


Walk in Their Shoes

by SecretMarial



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara (Undertale) Has Issues, Flavor Text Narrator Chara (Undertale), Gen, Good Chara (Undertale), Identity Issues, Mute Frisk (Undertale), Narrator Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent W. D. Gaster, Role Reversal, Roleswap, Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Younger Brother Sans (Undertale), rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-02-10 08:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18656584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretMarial/pseuds/SecretMarial
Summary: Joy and hope spread through the Underground, pervading the mountain in a way it hadn’t since the deaths of the royal children. Near everyone knew of the breaking barrier, and news was spreading faster every second. The name of the human who had made it all possible was on everyone’s lips, literal or metaphorical.Even if they were missing pieces of the puzzle, pieces only held by two humans, and a singular golden flower who would hide himself beneath the ground. Things like DETERMINATION, souls (and a lack thereof), SAVES, princes, and a stubbornly mistaken identity.Perhaps it was none of their business anyway.But it was so frustrating! Such a touching tale of mistakes and forgiveness, cruelty and kindness, love and LOVE… and he was the only one to truly appreciate it! Surely there must be a way to share this with everyone? Let everyone know Frisk’s story in it’s entirety, experience it themselves.Experience it themselves…That was it!Six monsters take a turn waking up in the golden flowers and following in Frisk's footsteps.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AKA: When Gaster wanted to play god.
> 
> Hello! This is my first work on AO3, and my first work in Undertale. Please enjoy this story.
> 
> While the prologue is entirely from my own mind, the actual story itself, when it will be posted, was inspired by nachosforfree over on tumblr. He made a few different posts about an AU "where sans is Frisk and vice versa" The idea got stuck in my head, and I've been typing ever since. Gaster got brought in as a duex ex machina more than anything. There may also be elements of AnonJ's great story 'Name the Fallen' I'd have to recommend it, it's a great story!
> 
> EDIT: I've been struggling a little to adapt to AO3's formating, feels like it has been fighting me the whole way. However! These issues have been resolved, to those two who have bookmarked this story already(!!!), this editing it three times in rapid succession should not happen again. Thank you.
> 
> I don't own anything.

Joy and hope spread through the Underground, pervading the mountain in a way it hadn’t since the deaths of the royal children. Near everyone knew of the breaking barrier, and news was spreading faster every second. The name of the human who had made it all possible was on everyone’s lips, literal or metaphorical.

_Frisk_  
  


No monster was entirely sure what had happened, just that brilliant light had claimed (nearly) every monster, only for them to wake up free. Still, everyone knew that the child had been the one to save them.

Even if they were missing pieces of the puzzle, pieces only held by two humans, and a singular golden flower who would hide himself beneath the ground. Things like DETERMINATION, souls (and a lack thereof), SAVES, princes, and a stubbornly mistaken identity.

Perhaps it was none of their business anyway.

But GASTER found that everything was his business. At least, he knew about it all, and that was close enough, certainly? And it was frustrating! What a beautiful tale he had witnessed unfold, though Frisk had, of course, miss-stepped along the way. Dust had lingered in timelines they had abandoned, before everything had been restored to its original state. Still, he thought it was worth it, and certainly so must the fallen humans, for them to have come this far.

The worst part was that not even the three -arguably four- children didn’t even remember it all! After the humans had erased reality itself, leaving themselves in the VOID, the long-dead princev had forced everything exactly the way it had been before. Including the last child who fell, and the flower who greeted them, and the first child themself. Everything but the VOID left behind, and its sole inhabitant.

It was so frustrating! Such a touching tale of mistakes and forgiveness, cruelty and kindness, love and LOVE… and he was the only one to truly appreciate it! Surely there must be a way to share this with everyone? Let everyone know Frisk’s story in it’s entirety, experience it themselves.

Experience it themselves…

That was it!

Perhaps not everyone, not each soul touched by the child’s actions, but surely some of them could be… Say perhaps eight of them?

_Perfect_

  


  
It had taken quite some time to arrange everything perfectly.

Harboring the DETERMINATION of two humans, especially two as young and willful as the fallen children, made for a certain instability. It was not too hard to manipulate the DETERMINATION, to bond the human’s soul to others. The problem was the monsters in question.

Too much and the DETERMINATION might abandon its original unstable soul, joining entirely with the monster and causing an amalgamate situation. Too little and the bond would fall back to the human soul, leaving no connection at all.  Fortunately, there was some pre-existing bond in place, at least for six specific monsters.

His original plan had to include every ‘boss’ the child had faced in any route, as well as Alphys, due to her control of Hotland and Napstablook, more because of their relation to Mettaton than their fight in the RUINS. However, circumstances precluded the two Blook cousins.

When Flowey had taken all the monster souls, he had caused them to bleed into each other, allowing every monster to learn the eighth human’s name at once. All but Napstablook, who had shut their curtain to Flowey’s soul-stealing wave… somehow?

Then he had discovered a further bond linking the human children to six monsters.

     Toriel         Asgore  
     Undyne      Alphys  
     Sans          Papyrus

And one more. Perhaps two? The overlap of Flowey and Asriel was far more complicated than the overlap of the human children.

Frisk had reached out into Asriel’s patchwork soul, calling out to each of their friends and reminding them of the emotional bond they shared. Then they had reached out to the prince himself, with the first humans help. And in doing so, had forged bonds of a more metaphysical nature. Reinforcing this bond was far easier than crafting a new one.

Now, perhaps it was favoritism, but GASTER had decided his own sons would serve as the first to share in Frisk’s journey. Papyrus was… complicated. His pre-existing bond with Flowey meant his soul was harder to manipulate. Hopefully, a minor rewrite of reality would be enough to mitigate Flowey’s ability to remember, which would cancel Papyrus’. Probably. He hoped.

All the more reason to focus on his other son! Sans would be the first.

About a year had passed in the reality he had focused his attention on. He had caught only pieces of the events, so focused was he on his work.  
     Papyrus driving a beautiful red car, only to be passed by his brother on a tricycle.  
     Undyne and Alphys being cutesy at the beach.  
     Toriel opening her long-desired school, and allowing Asgore to be its gardener.  
     Mettaton with his cousin and their friend, performing together at last. Even that fast food server had gained a role… as a shrub?  
     And finally, Frisk themself. Sleeping peacefully in their own room, Toriel just outside the door with as slice of pie.  
How wonderful. How sweet. How happy they all were. However, everything was now in place. The time was now, even as Toriel reached for the knob to her child’s, or children’s room.

He reached out along the bond between Frisk and Sans

And  
He  
_Pulled._


	2. Act 1; sans: RUINS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A skeleton wakes in the golden flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Please enjoy the first section of the first journey. I'm not entirly sure why I ended this chapter where I did, but it felt right, and I hope you all enjoy it. Though, I wouldn't expect another update this fast, I actually started working on this a few weeks before I started the prologue.
> 
> I'm a little upset because I wrote this with Comic Sans anytime either Sans or Chara spoke aloud, but I don't know how to put fonts into AO3 so I feel like this lost something because of that.

A monster stirred to bright light against his sockets, warmth on his bones. Something burned warm, almost pleasant, beneath his ribcage. He rolled over something soft-Flowers? Was this the throne room, the king had left him sleeping there once or twice-and opened his eye-sockets. Golden flowers met his vision, with unfamiliar gray walls beyond them.

He sat up slow and stretched. He pushed himself to his feet and shuffled out of the, uh, actually pretty small flower patch. He took in the plain hallway as his feet continued forward, nearly of their own volition. Right foot, then left, then right, then left, again and again until he reached the end of the hall. He turned left and continued through an archway, into a room with one beam of light, and one kinda weird looking golden flower. Almost like it had a face. His forward march stopped, as unthinking as it had begun, and the finally blinked away the last of the sleepiness clinging to the inside of his skull.

What the hell? He hadn’t seen a place like this before, and he had seen most of the Underground. Where was he? The only place he could think of that he wouldn’t recognize was the Ruins, and he had no clue how he could have gotten there. Eh, whatever, he should just keep walking for a little bit ‘til somebody could tell him which way Snowdin was, get back to familiar ground and take a shortcut home. Even out of that warm light, the heat behind his sternum hadn’t faded, felt real weird. He probably got sick or something, that’s what he gets for sleeping in weird places.

The skeleton stepped forward, and suddenly the flower started talking.

“*Howdy!” the little thing chirped, an upbeat, if simple Soul song filling the area. “*I’m FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER! *Hmm… *You’re new to the UNDERGROUND, aren’tcha? *Golly, you must be so confused. *Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! *I guess little old me will have to do! *Ready? *Here we go!”

Who was this guy? The monster had never met them before, and they seemed to think he was… new? How would anybody down here be ‘new’ to the Underground? Talking flower though… wasn’t Papyrus always talking about a friend like that? Usually called them Flowery or Floey something like that, but Papyrus had always had trouble with names of other monsters. Looks like it was an actual person, and not an Echo flower like he had thought.

While he was mulling all that over, Flowey stretched out their magic, and the monster felt his Soul get tugged into a fight.

“*woah, wait a se-“ White borders appeared around him and the flower as he protested, only to cut himself off as a very important fact made itself known.

The Soul that had come into being around his waist was red. There was no point in front of him, but rather the round bumps that belonged on the back.

This was a human Soul.

He was vaguely, distantly aware of the fact that the flower was still talking in that cheerful, near patronizing tone, but he was still kinda reeling from this new development. He reached inside himself for his stats and-

                LV 1        HP 20/20

Wh- what?

The monster’s vision blurred a little, feeling nothing but shock as he just… tried to process that. Suddenly pain shot through him.

                HP 01/20

Actually, that seemed more familiar. He managed to snap out of his stupor and refocus on Flowey, whose Soul music had silenced. A cruel, toothy grin had spread over their face, stretching it beyond its previous confines. He had a feeling he had missed something, but they just kept talking.

“ **-this world, it’s kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?** ”

Their voice had shifted to a high-pitched growl, and they followed their little declaration with a ring of bullets all around the battle box. There was no room to dodge.

**“Die.”**

They started _cackling_ , loud and wild, face taking on a new, demonic shape. The spinning bullets closed in around him.

Shit. Guess this was how he died. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to anybody, hell, his murderer didn’t even seem to know who he was. He always figured he’d probably die slipping or something, or some other accident. His last words would have been something stupid like ‘whoops’. Fear washed over him.

Oh Angel, someone, anyone, please help!

As the bullets reached him, he felt the warmth in his ribs peak and a wave of _concern, anger, protectiveness, outrage_ wash over him. He felt healed. Flowey’s face returned to something normal, as they stared at him in a sort of outraged confusion. Suddenly a fireball appeared within Flowey’s battle box, swatting them away with a hilarious squeak.

A boss monster walked in front of him, comforting Soul music replacing the flowers mad laughter.

“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” Wait… that voice. “Ah, do not be afraid, my child.” It was the old lady from behind the door! “I am TORIEL, caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.” Welp, he was definitely in the Ruins, though, uh… why did she think he was a kid? A HUMAN kid?! Eh, whatever, if she thought he needed to be taken care of he wouldn’t have to do anything, right? He’d just go along with it.

He started after her, only to be stopped by a distant sense of _curiosity_. Well, it wasn’t like he had been paying attention on the way out here. Might as well see what he had missed in his stupor.

He retraced his steps all the way back to the flowers. Sure were a lot of them.

_*(Golden flowers.)_

_*(Some of them broke under your weight.)_

What. The. Hell.

Had that… been a voice? In his head? Naw, whoever it was had to have been quiet, right?

“*hey, who’s there? *anybody?”

But nobody came.

Eventually he turned back, and followed Toriel out of the room he’d met Flowey in. Hope he never saw that weed again.

The Ruins color scheme turned out to be purple, not the gray that had dominated the first two rooms. Soft, cheerful ambient music filled them. Toriel was waiting for him, and walked a little ahead of him. She started up a set of stairs, but the skeleton found his attention was drawn by a weird gold thing flickering near a pile of leaves. The warmth in his ribs seemed to burn brighter as he drew near. Unthinking, he grabbed it.

The burn peaked again, and the voice from before whispered.

_*(The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination.)_

_*(HP fully restored)_

He shivered as the sensation of healing washed over him, drawing back from the

_*(SAVE point)_

What?

“*what?”

No answer.

He shuffled after Toriel, refusing to think about any of it too hard. She led him through puzzles, handholding him, and treating him like a little kid. She called him ‘child’ and ‘innocent one’. She brought him to a Dummy and asked him to talk to it, like a baby monster just learning how to spar. She scared off some poor Froggit that tried to spar with him.

It was actually pretty nice.

She smiled at him for the slightest accomplishment, didn’t rush, was real sweet to him. And he felt an emotion that felt _off_ in a way that was becoming familiar. _Affection._

The voice had yet to leave. It-they? Was this a person? - would read signs to him, made up a sweet little poem when he *Checked the Dummy, and narrated his actions, seemingly for their own amusement.

_*It doesn’t seem much for conversation._

_*Froggit attacks you!_

_*YOU WON! *You earned 0 XP and 0 gold_

But they never answered if he spoke to them. It was kinda frightening. He ignored it.

Then Toriel had him walk down a long hallway by himself, and at the end, handed him a cell phone, telling him to stay put. Seemed like the perfect opportunity for a nap, so he reclined himself against the pillar Toriel had hid behind. His eye sockets slid shut…

**Chara! Stay Determined…**

The skeleton monster started awake with Asgore’s voice echoing through his skull. What the hell? Why was he hearing the king calling for the late Princev? He pushed himself up, skull swinging around instinctively for someone who wasn’t there. Shaken, he settled back against the pillar, reluctantly dismissing the idea of a nap. Might as well check what the hell was up with his Soul. He *Checked himself.

“Chara”

LV 1

HP 20/20

AT 0 (0)                EXP: 0

DF 0 (0)                NEXT: 10

WEAPON: Bone toy

ARMOR: Bandage

GOLD: 0

What?! What the fuck?! Just-

The skeleton shuddered, a full-body rattle. He prided himself on being a calm, go-with-the-flow guy, somebody you couldn’t easily get under the – heh - _skin_ of, but this was way too much. He couldn’t deal with this. What was happening? Why, how, what-

Suddenly his hands were fumbling in his jacket, pulling out the phone Toriel had given him. He, he wasn’t really trying to, wasn’t entirely sure what he was trying to do. His hand flipped it open and hit the speed-dial.

 _*Dialing…_ the voice informed him.

Toriel picked up the phone “*This is TORIEL.”

Suddenly he started talking involuntarily. This was starting to seem like a pattern, honestly. “ _*Oh Angel help me, um Mom? W-wait, I mean-!_ ”

“*Huh? *Did you just call me… “Mom”?”

No more words were forthcoming; seems like whatever- or whoever- had been talking had decided to abandon him into this situation, but fortunately Toriel continued before he had to say anything.

“*Well… *I suppose… *Would that make you happy? *To call me… *”Mother?””

She paused then, and he just… blinked. It had felt kinda nice actually? He didn’t remember either of his own parents, and she was really nice. Sure, he was a grown man, but who didn’t like being mothered now and then. And the distant emotions, ones he was starting to think belonged to the voice…

_Nostalgia, affection, loss, longing._

“*uh… yeah, i think i’d like that.”

“*Well then, call me whatever you like!”

_*Click…_

He felt calmer now, grounded. He *Checked his stats again, but they were unchanged.

Chara. Huh.

“*that wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”

But nobody came…

“*alright, i get it. *i like havin’ privacy myself. *just uh… *thanks? i think i needed that”

Maybe it was just him, but he thought they felt pleased.

 _*Ring…_ The monster startled when his phone rang. He picked it up.

“*Hello! *This is TORIEL. *My errands are taking longer than I thought they would. *You must wait 5 more minutes. *Thank you for being patient.”

_*Click…_

Huh. Alright, he was a patient guy. He’d wait.

Actually… Now that he was thinking about his soul, his stats. When he had seen Chara’s name attached to his stats, it had freaked him out but…

What had he expected there? He couldn’t… remember. Who was he? What was his name again? A full body rattle passed through him as he realized he _didn’t know._ How could he not know his name? It was his _name._ How-

Nope. Nope nope nope. He refused to panic twice in the span of five minutes. So he didn’t remember his name. He knew who he was. He was Papyrus’ brother, Alphys’ friend, the old lady’s- or rather, Toriel’s joke buddy. A half-assed sentry and the royal judge. He’d have Pap remind him of his name when he got home. It was fine. As he reached this decision, his phone rang again.

_*Ring…_

“*i can uh, hear it ringing. i mean, keep it up if you feel like it, but you don’t have to tell me it’s ringing.” He spoke aloud, starting to feel a little sheepish about talking to a voice in his head that wouldn’t even respond. He answered the phone.

“*Hello… *This is TORIEL.” She liked using capitals in her name, didn’t she? “*I found what I was looking for. *But before I could take it… *A small, white puppy snatched it away. *How odd. *Do dogs even LIKE flour? *Err, that is an unrelated question, of course. *It will take a little longer. *Please understand.”

“*oh, sure. it’s fine.”

_*Click…_

_Impatience_

“*hey, i’m sure she’ll come back eventually. *it’ll be fine.”

He settled down against the large pillar, dozing lightly. He didn’t let himself fall all the way asleep. Call it a hunch, but he was pretty sure Asgore’s voice would meet him.

_*Ring…_

_*(…) *(You hear heavy panting on the other end of the phone…) *(…)_

“*Bark! *Bark! *Bark… *Bark!”

_*(You hear a distant voice.)_

“*Stop, please! *Come back here with my CELLPHONE!”

_*Click…_

( _...?_ )

… He wasn’t even gonna say anything. He settled himself back down. This might take a while.

_*Ring…_

_*(…)_

*(Snore… snore…)

_*(It sounds like a small, white dog is sleeping on the cell phone.) *(You hear a distant voice.)_

“*Helloooo? *Little puppy…? *Where are you…? *I will give you a nice pat on the head!”

_*(The snoring stops.)_

“*… if you return my CELLPHONE.”

_*(The snoring resumes.) *Click…_

The monster chuckled a little. “*this is actually kinda funny. whadda you think?”

_Amusement_

“*heh. *cool.”

They waited.

_*Ring..._

_*(...) *(Snore... snore...)_

_*(Achoo!)_

_*(It sounds like a small, white dog sneezing in its sleep.)_

_*(You hear a distant voice.)_

“*Here, pup-pup-puppy! *Oh dear, I should not keep my guest waiting any longer. *... Oh no, how long has it been since I have talked to them...? *Perhaps they have been calling the phone, and...? *... here, puppy!

_Click..._

And waited.

_*Ring..._

_*(...) *(Snore... snore...)_

_*(Yawn...) *(Blink blink.) *(Yawn...)_

_*(Snore... snore...)_

_*(You hear a tired voice.)_

“*Doggie... Here, doggie... *Oh dear... *I do wonder how they are...

_*Click..._

This was getting a little tiring, actually…

_*Ring..._

_*(Snore... snore...)_

_*Click..._

_Frustration_

“*yeah, i hear ya. *guess we might as well get going?”

_Excitement, nervousness_

“*let’s go.”

The skeleton finally pushed himself to his feet and started walking towards the next room. As he passed through the doorway-

_*Ring…_

“*Hello? Hello? *This is TORIEL. *My apologies. *A strange dog kidnapped my phone. *So if you called, I could not have helped you. *However, I have recovered it. *And you are still in that room, are you not? *What a good child you are. *There are a few puzzles ahead I have yet to explain. *It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourself. *Be good, alright.”

_*Click…_

_Guilt_

Actually, he felt a little bad too… But uh, it’s probably be fine. Despite what she thought, he actually wasn’t a kid. He’d be fine.

_*(…) *(We- um, someone else? There was someone else? They never waited this long. The dog was kind of funny.)_

Somebody else? Great, he had a second-hand voice in his head. He chuckled at his thoughts as he wandered farther into the room.

“*who’re you talking about? *what were they waiting for?”

_*(…)_

Looks like the silent treatment was back on. He noticed a Froggit standing off to the side and walked over.

“*hey there.”

“*Ribbit, ribbit.”

Right, he had forgotten. Most Froggits didn’t speak anything but Mebit, their native language. He had never picked it up. He winked, about to make his goodbyes, when the voice-Chara? - spoke up.

“ _*(Excuse me human.) *(I have some advice for you about battling monsters.)_ ”

For a second he wondered why they had chosen now to speak up, and why even they had mistaken him for human, before it dawned on him that they were translating for the Froggit. Huh.

“ _*(If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them…) *(They might not want to battle you anymore.) *(If a monster does not want to fight you, please…) *(Use some MERCY, human.)_ ”

“*Ribbit.”

Alright then. He hadn’t really needed that, he knew how sparring worked even if he avoided it with his one HP, but he got that the Froggit wanted to help.

“*thanks, buddy.”

_*(*Froggit didn’t understand what you said, but was flattered anyway.)_

The skeleton turned away from the smaller monster, and noticed another gold flicker. The near-forgotten burn built up in response. Glancing around, he approached it. The burn intensified until his whole body felt warmed by it. Kicking through the leaves, he grabbed the uh, what had the voice called it, the SAVE point.

_*(Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination.)_

_*(HP fully restored.)_

_ Save _ _ Return_

What?

_*(If you hold on, and let your- er, well, the determination fill you, you will SAVE. It will protect you, in case…)_

“*in case what?”

_*(Just in case.)_

Seemed like he wasn’t getting any more info from them, but… nothing about this seemed wrong, even if something was off. The voice seemed to know that too, if the way they had corrected themselves after referring to this determination as his was any indication. Determination… how the hell had he gotten any? And why wasn’t it melting him like…

Well, in any case, the determination was already there, and didn’t seem to be messing him up any. Let’s see where this went. He focused on the SAVE point glowing in his grip, on the warmth in his ribs, felt it build like a flame until…

A chime went off in his skull.

_File saved._

Alright. He looked himself over real quick as he stepped away from the SAVE point, didn’t seem like anything was wrong. Matter of fact, he felt pretty good. Safe, somehow. Maybe it was that ‘protect’ bit the voice had mentioned. Weird that they hadn’t used an asterisk to talk about the file, or whatever that was, but that just went to show how important they thought this was.

Moving on, he caught sight of a large doorway next to the Froggit from before. He made his way over, only to be pulled into a battle by a Whinsum. His first instinct was to leave the battle, but with 20 HP… He *Checked the timid monster.

ATK 5 DEF 0

* _This monster is too shy to fight…_

As if to prove them right, the Whinsum immediately apologized, before surrounding him with butterfly bullets that maintained a decent distance. He Spared them, and they fluttered off in fear.

_*YOU WON!_

_*You gained 0 XP and 0 gold_

He snorted at the voices excitement, though the mention of EXP left him a little on edge. Moving on, he walked through the doorway.

He found himself in a small room with water on either side and a bowl of candy sitting on a pedestal. He walked over.

_*It says ‘take one.’_

_*Take a piece of candy?_

He chuckled, nodding absentmindedly to the voice as he reached out and took a piece.

_*You took a piece of candy._

Then they whispered something, and he couldn’t quite hear, which was really weird since they were in his thoughts.

“*what was that, buddy?”

_*(Nothing important.)_

He shrugged “*alright.”

Turning around, he walked back into the Ruins proper. Continuing past several piles of leaves, he walked through to what seemed like the exit, only to be stopped by another Froggit.

*Check

ATK 4 DEF 5

_*Life is difficult for this enemy._

He dodged some small fly bullets with ease, and the voice chimed in unprompted.

_*The battlefield is filled with the smell of mustard seed._

True enough. He turned to his unexpected sparring partner.

“*heyya buddy, looking nice today”

 _*Froggit didn’t understand what you said, but was flatted anyway._ The voice informed him as the Froggit blushed. He dodged some more flies, and the voice continued.

 _*Froggit seems reluctant to fight you._ A statement corroborated by the yellow name the Froggit had donned.

Cool, that was pretty easy. He spared the other monster, ending the battle. They hopped away, still blushing.

_*YOU WON!_

_*You earned 0 XP and 2 gold._

He felt pleased with himself, honestly, though that could just be the voice’s excitement. He continued through the Ruins, completing several falling based puzzles, a few where he pushed around some rock monsters (and asked one to move itself), and easily spared the monsters who made their home in the Ruins. They were all pretty friendly actually, if a bit eccentric. But who was he to judge? Early on, Toriel called him, and he was asked for a preference of cinnamon or butterscotch. He let the voice pick.

“ _*…Uh, b-bscotch! Please?_ ”

“*Oh, I see. *Thank you very much!”

_*Click…_

After a call to confirm a non-aversion to cinnamon, the voice spoke up.

_*(I used to be allergic to cinnamon. When I had my own body. That’s why I said b’scotch. Not that I’ll say no to cinnamon now! Just thought I’d share.)_

“*hey, no prob. didn’t much care myself, ‘swhy i let you pick. nothing wrong with b apostrophe scotch.”

All he got in return was the mental equivalent of a smile.

He also saved, with a cute little message about a mouse and its cheese.

Eventually he encountered a monster he recognized. Napstablook. The guy lived in Waterfall, and they mostly just wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, they had parked themselves right in the walkway, pretending to sleep by making a ‘z’ noise.

_*Move it with force?_

Nah, he’d just wait here for a while. He moved over to a nearby wall and settled down. Time drifted without meaning.

 _*(Hey.)_ the voice eventually interjected. _*(It has been 10 minutes, more or less.) *(We already waited for nearly an hour in the hall earlier.) *(I think it is time we got moving.)_

The monster sighed. Guess they weren’t the patient type? Anyway, he got out his new phone, decided he might as well call Toriel before he bothered Napstablook.

_*Dialing…_

“*This is TORIEL.”

“*heyya. just wanted to say hi.”

“*You only wanted to say hello…? *Well then. *’Hello!’ *I hope that suffices. *Hee hee.”

_*Click…_

He huffed out a laugh himself before finally approaching Napstablook.

_*(This ghost keeps saying ‘z’ out loud repeatedly pretending to sleep.)_

_*Move it with force?_

He nodded as he reached out, letting his hand pass through the ghost

“*hey, think you could mo-”

Napstablook startled and drew away, before starting a battle.

 _*Here comes Napstablook,_ the voice quipped as swing music filled the area. More out of a developing habit than anything else, the skeleton *Checked.

ATK 10 DEF 10

* _This monster doesn’t seem to have a sense of humor…_

“*oh, i’m REAL funny.”

He blinked at Napstablook’s reaction to the voice, but figured it would be easier to accept it as he dodged the ghost’s tears as they followed him around the box. He still ended up taking a hit. It was pretty strange to actually be able to spar without worrying about dying with one hit. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but not really painful.

 _*Napstablook is pretending to sleep._ The skeleton glanced over to find Napstablook had indeed shut his eyes and was pretend snoring again. He waved at them.

_*You give Napstablook a friendly wave._

“*heh…” Napstablook murmured, as though trying to laugh but not quiet remembering how. They opened up their eyes and sent out grey magic.

**_REALLY NOT_ **

**_FEELING UP_ **

**_TO IT RIGHT_ **

**_NOW. SORRY._ **

_*Napstablook looks just a little bit better._

Alright then. Sounded like the other monster could use some cheering up. He took a second to think of a joke.

“*how can you tell when a ghost is sad?” he winked. “*they go boo hoo.”

_*You told Napstablook a little joke._

“*heh heh…”

The ghost cries again, though the tears are rounder, and no longer follow him.

_*Cheering seems to have improved Napstablook’s mood again._

He chuckled, eye sockets scrunching up in a more genuine version of his permanent grin.

_*Napstablook wants to show you something._

“*let me try…” Napstablook’s tears begin running upward, forming a hat above their head. “*i call it ‘dapperblook… *do you like it…?”

_*Napstablook eagerly awaits your response._

“*it’s real great buddy, a total _scream._ ”

“*oh gee…” The battle ends, and Napstablook continues, telling the other monster they usually came here to be alone, but they were glad to meet someone nice. They faded away, leaving the walkway clear again. He walked through the leaves, continuing through the Ruins. He bought a spider donut too, which was cool. He had never tried one before, with Muffet’s prices. He tucked it into his inventory for later. Then some Froggits spoke to him, about an ‘F4’, and how he might need to Spare someone who had yet to put on their Yellow name…

Where was his Yellow name anyway? He checked for it, but couldn’t seem to find it. He usually just left it on all the time, showing his desire to leave a Fight immediately. Guess it might not work with a human Soul, anyway… Then Toriel called to remind him to leave room in his inventory for things he might really like.

Like a Faded Ribbon. Or well, she hadn’t said that, but he found one in the next room, and the voice informed him that monsters wouldn’t hit as hard if he looked cuter. Something he knew, but it left them open for some teasing.

“*what’s that? you think i’m cute? thanks.”

* _That’s not what I meant! Why must I suffer like this?_

The monster laughed. “*how do i put this on, anyway?”

A sigh _*Here, let me just-_

His hands started moving involuntarily, pulling up his shorts enough to peel a bandage off his patella. It hurt! The gooey bandage was tucked into his inventory, before his hands- under the voice’s control, apparently? - threw the ribbon over his head, pulling it tight to the underside of his skull. They pulled the ends up, tying a bow above his right eye.

_*You equipped the ribbon._

Then one hand trailed down to the socket itself as the other fell to his side.

_*Your vision is somewhat… limited. This eye doesn’t work, right?_

“*uh… yeah. *why?”

_*Curiosity I suppose. *The uh, the one I mentioned earlier was really sensitive to light. *We squinted all the time and could barely see. *And my sight is limited to what is natural for the poor Soul I leech off of._

“*huh. makin’ it sound like your hurting me. pretty sure you’ve been real helpful.”

_*(…) *(Thank you.)_

After that, there wasn’t really anything more complicated than a few more puzzles and Fights. He ended up picking up a little toy knife along the way, allowing him to place the weird bone toy he had woken up with into his inventory. He thought the sentries back home would appreciate him throwing them a bone.

Though… his health had gone down to four, probably not safe to leave it at that.. He popped the monster candy in his mouth.

_*(!!!)_

He blinked at the shock that ran through him. “*geez kid, you okay?”

 _*It just went_ through _your teeth! That’s how you eat?_

“*uh, yeah. *are, are you okay with that?”

_*Yes, I just, I was startled. Sorry._

“*it’s fine, no need to apologize.”

That over with, he walked into the next room only to hear a familiar voice.

“*Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.” Toriel walked into sight and pulled out her cellphone. His rang, and she looked up, meeting his gaze.

“!” She quickly made her way over, tucking her phone away.

“*How did you get here, my child? *Are you hurt? *There, there, I will heal you.”

Healing magic washed over him. “*geez, uh thanks. i’m fine though, you didn’t need to do that.”

She still looked concerned, brows furrowed. “*I should not have left you alone for so long. *It was irresponsible of me to try to surprise you like this.”

“*surprise me?”

Toriel got a startled look on her face. “*Err…” She smiled at him. “*Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. *Come, small one!”

She led the way into a house just beyond a dead-looking tree.

_*Every time this old tree grows any leaves, they fall right off._

He started to follow her, until he saw another Save point. He grabbed it.

_*(Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the RUINS gives you determination.)_

_File saved._


	3. ACT 1; sans: Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans reaches Home, and gets a little disturbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much shorter than the last, and I'm sorry. I only really have computer access at school, and I'm graduating tomorrow. This story is likely going on an indefinite hiatus, and I'd like to apologize. I hope to return eventually. Please enjoy.

When he walked into the house, it was warm, with comforting Soul music and a mouthwatering smell in the air.

“*Do you smell that?” Toriel asked. He nodded. “*Surprise! *It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. *I thought we might celebrate your arrival. *I want you to have a nice time living here.” Wait. “*So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.” No, go back to the ‘living here’ bit, what was that about?

“*Here, I have another surprise for you.” She walked away to the right. He followed, starting to feel a little nervous.

“*This is it…” Toriel took his hand and led him to the first door. “*A room of your own. *I hope you like it!” She rubbed the top of his skull. _Shit_. She wanted him to stay here? Live with her? He wasn’t sure why she had assumed that, but he had to get home, back to Papyrus and his regular life. He just… wasn’t sure how to break that to her. Or even where he was supposed to go, actually.

“*Is something burning…?” Toriel broke into his thoughts. “*Um, make yourself at home!” She ran off before he could say anything. Guess he had better wait until she was done cooking to say anything. He opened the door and peeked into the room. It was all in orange, with a bed right in front of him. A box of toys sat at the foot. He walked in.

_*Look at these cool toys!_

_*You’re too distracted to appreciate them._

He huffed at that. “*guess so. *what am i supposed to do? she wants me to stay here.”

_*Don’t worry. Everything will be okay, I promise._

_*Maybe a nap will help clear your skull._

“*i don’t know about that… don’t know if you heard last time, but…”

_*D- Asgore’s voice, right?_

_*You will awaken to his voice, but your sleep will be deeper this time. *But only if I go to sleep at the same time._

“*did you just, not sleep last time?”

_*I wasn’t tired. *I was_ wired.

“*what?” Amusement flashed through him, genuinely his own this time. Seemed the kid was coming out of their shell. He wandered over to the bed, hoisting himself onto it.

_*Ha, uh. *After getting jumped by a Glayde in Snowdin once, I’m not comfortable with ignoring my surroundings when we’re anywhere a fight could be started._

The amusement faded as he took that in. Glaydes were usually pushy monsters. Braggarts too, but talking big could scare some unsuspecting kid, especially one adjusting to the Underground, assuming this was early into Chara’s stay with the Dreemurrs. He figured it’d be better to change the subject.

“*but i’ll still wake up to the king’s voice, huh?”

_*I am afraid a kingly wake-up call is part and parcel of sharing a soul with me._

_*Nothing to be done about it._

“*that sucks. *not too bad though, i’ll just have to get used to it.”

_*(…)_

“*might as well start now. *g’night.” He kicked off his sneakers and lay back on the bed.

_*(…) *(Goodnight.)_

His eye sockets slid shut. And then he could feel something settle in his mind, like a joint relaxing that he didn’t know he had. Darkness claimed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some clarification!
> 
> Concerning sleeping and Chara: If Chara is still aware, their mind will bring the body back into awareness. The act of waking up causes Chara to remember Asgore speaking to them on their deathbed.
> 
> About why they don't sleep outside of Home: Sans assumed the incident with the Glayde is from Chara’s life, while it is something that happened to Frisk, inspired by a scene from a story by TheArchimage called ‘How to Save a Soul’. Great story, I recommend.


	4. Act 1; sans: Heartbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is what was originally going to be the majority of Chapter 3! Oh well. Still no reliable internet access, but I will try to get things out when I can, please enjoy!
> 
> Also, I apparently messed up. Turns out Asgore’s voice only greets you if you try to go back to sleep after Toriel decides to destroy the exit to the Ruins. Oops! However, I enjoyed the scenes I wrote with the two of them discussing the issue, so I’ll just leave it, and continue with it from there! Anyone who tries to sleep while sharing a Soul with Chara will wake up to Asgore telling them to ‘Stay Determined’ and if Chara is not ready to sleep they will wake up immediately.
> 
> Emotions in italics are usually things Sans is getting from Chara

**Chara! Stay Determined…**

The monster startled awake as the King’s voice echoed in his skull. He jumped out of bed, jitters running through him. His gaze lit upon something in front of him.

A piece of pie? He reached out to take it.

_*You found a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie._

He tucked it carefully into his inventory; then looked around the room.

It was darker than it had been before he had gone to sleep, and he realized there was a lamp he hadn’t turned off. He walked over and flicked it on.

The area music changed suddenly, and he twitched. He hadn’t realized it, but it had been changed from what he had first walked into. He turned the lamp back off. The music became something gentler, almost like a lullaby. On. The music became fuller and warmer. Cool.

He moved on to a picture of a flower hanging on a wall. It looked like a golden flower.

_*(A box of kids’ shoes in a disparity of sizes.)_

Chara’s comment brought his attention down to the ground, where there was indeed a box, with shoes poking out. Guess the fallen humans had stayed here for some time on the way into the Underground. At least long enough to leave behind extra shoes.

He moved on to a dresser, taking in some abandoned papers turning yellow with age and an old picture frame.

_*(An empty photo frame.)_

_*(It’s really dusty…)_

“*guess it has been a while since the last human came through. *what do you think she had in here?”

_*(…) *(Family photos.)_

He nodded and moved on to a wardrobe. He tugged on the door, but it stuck. Giving up, he moved down to the foot of the bed.

_*Look at these cool toys!_

Indulging the kid, he settled in front of the box and pulled out a toy turtle, followed by some sort of round creature. Then a furry human, and a fish that looked kinda like Shyren with Undyne’s teeth and an antenna. What should he do with them? What did Papyrus usually do with his action figures? Right, he had them fight. That is ‘PLAN OUT VERY COMPLEX AND IMPORTANT BATTLE SCENARIOS’. Eh, sounded too complicated. He put his back to the toy box and set them up in a circle.

_*Are you having a tea party?_

“*heh. *not a bad idea actually.”

_*Oh Angel. *If that’s what you want, uh. *Check the drawer on the wardrobe._

Going along with the suggestion led him to a plastic pink teapot and over half a dozen multi-colored teacups. He pulled out five of them and the pot, dropping them into a pile at the center of the tea circle. He set a purple cup in front of the fish, a green one in front of the furry human, a blue one in front of the round thing, and white one in front of the turtle. He kept an orange cup for himself.

“*alright. *let’s do this.”

 _*(I’m regretting_ everything _.)_

* * *

 

_*No Miss Gloria! *Don’t do it! *You have so much to live for!_

“*Y-you’re right… I’LL KILL YOU INSTEAD!”

_*Ahhhh! Curse you’re sudden but inevitable betrayal!_

_*(Mx. Fluffipolis has fallen to their death.)_

“*Oh my Angel, how could I have done this! *My dearest friend, lost forever to my anger.”

_*(Gloria is stricken with grief and wracked with guilt)_

_*(She feels there is only one option.)_

“*I will build a Frankenstein!”

_*What?!_

“*she’s gonna build a frankenstein out of her dead friends.”

_*That is not where I expected this to go?_

_*Also, Frankenstein was the name of the scientist._

“*what scientist?”

_*The one who built Frankenstein’s…_

_*Wait that wouldn’t work._

“*what?”

_*Well on the surface, Frankenstein was about a scientist who created an abomination in the pursuit of creating life._

_*However, the author referred to this creature as ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ which is problematic in this society for obvious reasons._

_*Though it is worth noting that the creature is characterized better than the creator, and most humans mistakenly use the name Frankenstein as the name of the creature, who received no name during the story._

“*geez, word vomit. *didn’t even know there was a story on the surface. *must have gotten absorbed into our media.”

_*Ha ha ha… *Sorry._

“*nah, it’s fine. *cool to know. *anyway, probably about time to put these up.”

_*You are right. *But uh-_

_Embarrassment_

_*This was fun._

“*it really was. thanks.”

He put away the toys and tea set before heading for the door. Once through, his gaze caught on a water sausage to the left. The plant was great for his hot dogs.

_*Oh! It is a “water sausage.”_

“*you sound excited.”

_*When F- uh the other one and I were here, I couldn’t remember what this was called until we read a book in mo-Toriel’s room._

He nodded and walked further down the hall. He didn’t know where Toriel had gone, but he thought this was Home, and if it was built the same as New Home her room should be this way. With the pie finished and served, he was hoping she would be this way.

The first door he reached was normally marked with a renovations sign, but here it was uncovered. Figures the royals would have each others rooms blocked off. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Shrugging, he continued down and reached the door that led to Asgore’s room in New Home

_*”Room under renovations.”_

Yep, just like he thought. Then he saw a mirror a little further down. Geez, the similarities were starting to get uncanny. He shuffled over to it and-

_Shock_

And-

_Confusion_

He froze.

That wasn’t his reflection. That _wasn’t his reflection._ Just like this wasn’t his soul, his name, his anything. _Anything_. That wasn’t even a monster in the mirror that was- was-

A human.

A human with pale white skin, whiter hair, and red eyes. A human with chubby cheeks, wide square eyes, a choppy bowl cut. It had a large forehead decorated with a red bow, and bags beneath it’s eyes. A lazy grin was spread across it’s face, showing off teeth even whiter than its hair. It wore a blue and white striped shirt and

And his jacket. He stepped back. It was wearing his striped shorts. And his white gloves. And his sneakers, laces falling loose. He stepped forward. He blinked slowly. It blinked back. He turned his skull to the side, keeping his eye-lights on the image. It mimicked him, eyes on him. He looked down at his gloved hand. Pulling off the glove, relief flooded him when he saw his own bones. He wiggled the phalanges. Looking back at the mirror, a tremor ran through him.

The hand in the mirror was fleshy. He reached out, and it met him halfway. Bone met glass, and the flesh hand met it.

_*Seems like it’s you._

He closed his eyes, tensing up. Then his hand pushed into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Chara flipped it open and hit the speed dial.

_*Dialing…_

“*is this gonna be your answer every time something goes wrong?”

“*This is TORIEL.”

“*Gre-Hello! I was just… curious about you? Tell me about yourself!”

“*You want to know more about me? *Well, I am afraid there is not much to say. *I am just a silly little lady who worries too much!”

_*Click…_

Chara put the phone back into his pocket, and he felt them turn his body around.

_*Better?_

He took stock. The tension in his joints had loosened, and his trembling had eased. He was still rattled, but he felt like he had a handle on it now.

“*…yeah. *better.”

_*I’m glad._

_*Hey, would you mind going to Toriel’s room?_

_*I would like to show you something._

That… was a little weird, but whatever. He retraced his steps to the middle door and tried the knob. It opened easily, and he stepped through.

Toriel’s room was all blue, which made the golden flower on top of the bookshelf pop out all the more.

“*what d’ya wanna show me?”

_*The chair._

_*Oh, and the bed._

_*And the cactus!_

He raised a metaphorical brow at that but went along with it. He started with the chair and was rewarded with the usual narration.

_*(Toriel’s small chair.)_

_*(Its name is Chairiel.)_

He snorted at that, and he could feel their resulting pride. Amused, he meandered over to Toriel’s bed.

_*(Definitely bigger than a twin-sized bed.)_

They were right, though he wasn’t sure why they felt that was so important. Now that they mentioned it…

“*looks to me like a _queen-sized._ ”

_*(…)_

_*(How_ dare _you.)_

Woah. He jerked at the anger echoing in their tone and in his head.

_*That was my joke!_

_*I just set it up, and after you had been to New Home and back I was gonna finish it!_

_*I mean, I guess it might not work as well for someone who already knew mom was Queen but-_

_*But it was my joke! You can’t just take it!_

“*uh, sorry? *didn’t mean to steal your joke.”

_Frustration_

_*Whatever. It’s fine._

_*Let’s just leave._

“*what about the cactus?”

_*(…)_

_*(It is truly the most tsundere of plants.)_

He laughed at that comment, suddenly reminded of Alphys and her anime. He felt them relax. Happy their anger had passed as quick as it came, he started towards the door.

_*Wait._

“*yeah?”

_*Would you be willing to read Toriel’s journal?_

_*There’s nothing personal I promise!_

“*that… *that seems a little weird kid.”

_*Yeah, it’s just uh-_

_*You know what, nevermind._

“*oookay.”

He walked back into the hallway and started towards the living room. His gaze caught on the stairway to the right. That led to the throne room garden in New Home, whenever the elevator wasn’t working anyway, so it might be lead somewhere Toriel liked to spend her time here. He started down the stairs which led to a long purple hallway. The comforting music of Home cut off, leaving the area silent but for the occasional ominous tone. He shivered and continued forward.

Suddenly Toriel ran up from behind him.

“*oh hey, i was loo-” She cut him off.

“*I think you should play upstairs instead.” She grabbed him by the hand and led him quickly back up the stairs, before retreating to the dining room faster than he could keep up. Weird. At least he knew where she was now. Trailing after her, he found a duplicate of New Home’s dining room, but with one less chair at the table. And a lot more color. Home was just a lot warmer than New Home actually,  Asgore ought to get a personal decorator or something. Toriel was sitting in the reading chair in front of the fireplace, which explained why Asgore kept the one in New Home despite never using it. Poor guy.

He walked over to her and she smiled.

“*Up already, I see?”

“*yeah. *had a nice nap.”

“*Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here.” Ah geez. “*There are so many old books I want to share. *I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot.” Now he felt bad. “*I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education.” How was he supposed to tell her he needed to leave? She was so excited. “*This may come as a surprise to you… *But I have always wanted to be a teacher. … actually, perhaps that isn’t very surprising. *STILL. *I am glad to have you living here.” Oh Angel, what was he supposed to say. “*Oh did you want something? *What is it?”

Maybe it would just be easier to say nothing, find his own way home. Before he could say anything, the urge to ask her the way out surged, and words spilled out his teeth.

“When can I go home?”

“*What? *This… this IS your home now.” Shit shit shit he had not meant to say that. “*Um… would you like to hear about this book I am reading? *It is called “72 Uses for Snails.” *How about it?”

He nodded before anything else could come out and relief shone from Toriel’s face. Oh Angel. She looked down to the book in her lap.

“*Here is an exciting snail fact. *Did you know that snails… *Talk. Really. Slowly?” He huffed and she smiled even wider. “*Just kidding, snails don’t talk. *Interesting.”

“*yeah”

“*Well, bother me if you need anything else.”

Nodding, he retreated, though a desire to turn back pulled at him all the way to his room. Shit, he couldn’t call it that, he wasn’t actually going to LIVE here. He had a brother to get home to, and half a dozen jobs to be bad at. He needed to talk to Alphys about his Soul, and hope she had some weird science thing to fix him. He wanted to go to Grillby’s, play stupid pranks, eat greasy food.

He wanted to go home.

_*Hey there, are you okay?_

_*Why did your words come out so funny?_

_*I mean I knew you could speak out of font but that was weird._

“*that wasn’t you?”

_*(…)_

_*(No.)_

_*(But I think I know what it was.)_

“*what?”

_*(So there’s a third… person?)_

_*(Who is attached to this Soul.)_

_*(They don’t seem to really know we are here and can override our choices most of the time, though generally they go with the flow.)_

_*(Either that or our wishes and theirs happen to coincide a lot.)_

He thought about that for a second. Just a second.

“*nope.”

_*(What?)_

“*nope, nu-uh, no way, not happening bye.”

He turned around and walked out, down the hall and paused in the living room. The stairs at New Home led to the elevator hallway, not just Judgement Hall and the throne room. Maybe there was a way out. Peering down into the dining room, he started down the stairs again, gentler than before. He crept down the hall, but Toriel ran down to meet him again.

“*It is dangerous to play here.” She pulled him back upstairs again. He rattled with frustration as she returned to the dining room.

_*Listen._

_*I didn’t want to say anything, but my old partner and I spent a lot of time trying to find a way out without bothering Toriel._

_*You cannot leave without asking her._

_*And she will not let you leave._

A nervous feeling settled in his bones.

“*c’mon, you can’t know that for sure. *things could be different now. *since you guys left.”

_Anxiety_

_*That is the problem._

_*Toriel does not remember any of that._

_*Because none of it happened. *Yet?_

His nervousness built.

“*what’s that supposed to mean?”

_*(My partner and I could control time a little bit and since you don’t remember them and mom is back in the Ruins I think time went back to the beginning again.)_

_*(I’m sorry?)_

His buzzing nerves bloomed into full-blown panic and he wheezed. He turned and walked back to the child room. He hid beneath the covers.

_*(Oh Angel I really am sorry! Are you okay?)_

“*goodnight. *gonna go to bed. *wake up back home. *my home, with pap and i won’t have the soul of the anomaly.”

_*(…) *(I really am sorry.)_

_*(That is not going to happen.)_

_*(But I will let you pretend.)_

_*(Goodnight again… comedian.)_

He drifted into the black.

* * *

 

**Chara! Do not give up!**

**You are the future of humans and monsters…**

His eye-sockets opened under the dark of the blanket.

‘i’m in snowdin. i’m in my bed. pap’s gonna start yelling any minute. i didn’t just hear asgore, just a leftover from the dream. that’s all it was. a dream.’

He pushed away the covers.

It wasn’t a dream.

* * *

_*(I’m really sorry)_

“*not your fault. *it’s just a lot to take in.”

_*(I knew you were aware time travel was happening, but I didn’t realize this would affect you so much.)_

“*… *how’d you know i knew?”

_*(…) *Because you-_

_Amusement_

_*Because I’m- Ha! *I’m the ultimate fartmaster! Ha ha ha!_

The familiar password sent a wave of relief through him. His time-traveler codes. He had never told them to anyone, never even said them outloud. For Chara to know it, a future version of himself must have decided that they could be trusted, that not only had the kid, and whoever else the had been with, hadn’t hurt anyone, but had proven willing to pull time travel stunts when asked. Helpful and friendly. All the stories painted Chara as a good kid, and they had been real sweet so far, but there was no telling about the partner they liked to talk about. Now that he was thinking about it…

“*that- uh *i swear i had a funny speech to give you-”

_*You did! *It was great!_

_*You also had a serious speech, but we only had to hear that twice._

_*It was really nice of you to notice we had heard you before._

_*A few people noticed similar things, but you were the only one who had the context for it._

_*It snapped us out of doldrums. *We felt like we were going to go nuts, because no matter what we did nothing changed._

_*Then you pulled that. *And we decided to listen to a suggestion that- uh- a friend??? *Gave to us and things_ changed _and-_

“*woah! *geez, glad i helped. *since you needed it. *but i wanted to ask about your partner. *and how the anomaly works. *how much you’ve done.”

_*Okay! I can do that! *Er- answer that._

_*(I think I liked it better when all I gave was commentary and the human wasn’t sure if I was real or not.)_

_*So my partner is the owner of the red soul currently hiding in your ribcage! *They are a human, but despite this they are kind, and have never hurt anyone. *With a few, significant and necessary exceptions._

“*despite?”

_*??? *Yes despite. *Because humans are terrible??? What kind of question is that?_

Coming from a human, that seemed a little weird. Guess they’d be the expert? Whatever.

“*and the anomaly? *how long, in normal time, have you two been doing this?”

_*From your current perspective? *This morning, or whenever my partner fell into the mountain?_

_*None of the loads and resets you might be aware of were us._

“*what-” He cut himself off, feeling as though he had lost his footing. “*care to explain?”

_*Um, well._

_*It is all really complicated._

_*But if you continue through the mountain, you will receive all of the clarification you need!_

He huffed with frustration. Was this how people felt when they tried to pry answers out of him.? “*sounds like you don’t want to be bothered explaining.”

_*It’s not that!_

_*It- I-_

_*It was a very eventful day? *And it was a full year ago to my perceptions!_

_*We never explained what exactly happened. *I would not know_ how _to explain such events._

_*But just know that we were not the first with the power. *But we were the last._

_*Until this happened._

He let his eyesockets slide shut. Refusing to address the fact that he had missed a loop of an entire year, he decided to move to another topic.

“*how does it work? *the looping?”

_*Well, my partner is just a child. *I tried to make it sort of a game by calling them Saves and Loads._

_*You remember the gold Save points?_

“*yeah.”

_*Well it is very simple, though emotionally scarring._

_*If you get killed by monster’s trying to take the human soul you will wake up back at the last place you made a save!_

He froze. A sick feeling settled in his bones.

_*That’s how it keeps you safe._

_*And if you do not have a save you will wake up back in the flowers in the first room._

“*and you know that… *from experience?”

_*Yes!_

_*Do not worry, the Save points will keep you safe!_

_*They never failed us!_

_*Um, except for… ah…_

Chara’s attempt at reassurance fell flat, mostly because he wasn’t really listening anymore. “*you got killed.”

_*Oh! Don’t worry, all deaths happened in capital F Fights!_

_*No pain was experienced except for the shattering of the soul itself, which is sort of like when a body part falls asleep._

_*Tingly and itchy all over._

Well, that was a relief. Gonna let that slide then. What else?

_*Listen, I know you must be missing your brother._

_*Once we ask Toriel about leaving enough, she will leave to destroy the exit._

_*Follow and you’ll be able to get out._

_*Please. *I want to find my partner, and try to fix this._

Alright, seemed reasonable enough. One step at a time. Get out of the Ruins, then the two of them would figure it out from there.

And he did want to see Pap again soon.

“*alright kid, let’s do this.”

* * *

 

“*hey ol- mom.”

Toriel looked up from her snail book to give him a smile.

“*What is it?”

_*Just let the third answer, it is easier._

His desire to go home surged and once again words spilled out his teeth.

“How to exit the RUINS?”

…That was the absolute worst way that could have been said. Toriel gasped, eyes widening before she answered.

“*… I have to do something. *Stay here.” She closed her book and hurried out of the room.

_*Oh I forgot they had asked earlier._

_*Quickly, down the stairs!_

He hurried himself into the living room and down the stairs. His pace slowed as the ominous tones of the hallway started. Toriel was a short way ahead of him.

“*You wish to know how to return “home” do you not?” Her voice rang with false cheer. “*Ahead of us lies the end of the RUINS. *A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. *I am going to destroy it.” Even with the warning from Chara, it was a bit of a shock to hear it from her like this. “*No one will ever be able to leave again. *Now be a good child and go upstairs.” She hurried further down the corridor and he followed.

She was waiting a little further down, as though she had expected him to follow. “*Every human that falls down here meets the same fate.” Her tone was flat and lifeless, worse than the fake positivity. “*I have seen it again and again. *They come. *They leave. They die.” On Angel. The other six souls. They had all come from the Ruins. “*You naïve child… *If you leave the RUINS… *They… *ASGORE… *Will kill you.” Had she taken them all in? Did she feel responsible? “*I am only protecting you, do you understand? *… go to your room.” She continued. He trailed behind, slower.

She was paused in front of a turn in the hall. “*Do not try to stop me. *This is your final warning.” She hurried away. Final warning before what? The kid hadn’t been all that clear on this part. Only one way to find out.

Walking down the final stretch, he found Toriel standing in front of a large door with the Deltarune symbol covering it.

“*You want to leave so badly?” He flinched at the anger in her tone. At least it was better than the emptiness earlier. “*Hmph. *You are just like the others. *There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… *Prove to me you are strong enough to survive.” What?

Magic slowly swirled around them, pulling them gradually into a Fight. Toriel turned to face him as the battle box came into existence. The red soul appeared around him, and Toriel’s lively but tense battle music filled the area.

 _*Toriel blocks the way!_ Chara called out.

“*wait, this isn’t what- *what is happening? *i don’t wanna fight you!”

_*…_

“*could we talk this out?”

_*You couldn’t think of any conversation topics._

Toriel’s magic took the form of fire, falling in a shifting helix. He tried to stay in the safe circle but stumbled into two bullets.

_*Toriel looks through you._

Taking slow, unnecessary breaths- or were they unnecessary anymore?- he *Checked her.

TORIEL – ATK 80 DEF 80

_*Knows best for you._

He mumbled under his breath. “*who’s side are you on?”

_*(…)_

_Grief_

Swallowing through the kids emotions, a second fire helix brings his attention back to the battle. Only one catches him this time.

 _*Toriel prepares a magical attack._ Chara informs him. Giving up on trying to get through to her, he spares her to pass his turn. A small whimper slips out of her, distracting him. A projection of her hand smacks into him, and she immediately ends her turn.

_*Toriel is acting aloof._

He spares her again, and she whimpers again. Longer, a shaky hum. She sends out a projection of her hands again, and this time he steps to the side, then gets hit by one of the flying fireballs she left behind. Geez, he is nowhere near as good at this as he thought.

 _*Toriel is acting aloof._ Chara repeats.

He spares her again and again, until she says something.

“*What are you doing?” she demands. By now his HP has dropped to 3. He is caught by surprise and stumbles straight into another fireball. This time it only does one damage, and she ends her turn right away. He opens his inventory.

_*Wait!_

“*???”

_*Toriel won’t kill you. *She will go out of her way to keep you alive._

_*Save your things. *You will need them._

Well, the kid hasn’t given him much reason not to trust them yet. A little cagey, but he was the same way. Instead of using a healing item (wait why had the bandage turned into a healing item that was so weird) he spared Toriel again.

“Attack or run away!” Her fireballs fall again, but they fall away from him.

“*no can do lady. *i need to go.”

_*Toriel looks through you._

“What are you proving this way?”

“*’m not trying to prove anything *i’m just not gonna hurt you.”

“Fight me or leave!”

“*no.”

He doesn’t hear what Chara says anymore, just feels their desperation. Their love for their mom.

“Stop it.”

“no!” Determination burns inside, and he has never felt this passionate.

“*Stop looking at me like that.” Toriel averts her eyes.

“Go away!” Her gaze is hardened again and he feels his hands ball into fist distantly. Was that Chara, or was his whole body faraway?

He spares her again. She falls silent, fierceness failing her. He spares again, and she looks away.

“”I know you want to go home but…”

_*…_

The sudden end to Toriel’s battle music pulls him out of his determined trance. His fists are balled, the phalanges of his feet curled in his sneakers. Every joint feels tense. His breathing is fast. He is trembling.

He spares Toriel again.

“But please… go upstairs now.”

_*…_

Spare.

She smiles at him. “I promise I will take good care of you here.”

_*…_

Spare

“I know we do not have much, but…”

 _*…_ Chara’s silence is so loud in his head.

Spare.

“We can have a good life here.”

_*…_

He isn’t sure he could keep from sparing if he tried. How much is him and how much is the mysterious third?

Her smile falls. “Why are you making this so difficult?” She sounds miserable. He feels miserable. Or maybe that’s Chara. He can’t tell the difference anymore.

_*…_

He’s still trembling as he spares her again.

“Please, go upstairs.” Her voice trembles.

_*…_

Spare.

She falls silent and her face crumbles.

_*…_

Spare.

She laughs joylessly.

_*…_

Spare.

“Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child.”

Someone spares her again. He couldn’t say if it was him.

“…”

_*…_

Spare.

Resignation settles on her face. Her eyes glow like banked embers, red as rubies. “No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The RUINS are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… My loneliness… My fear… For you, my child… I will put them aside.” She ends the battle and turns back to the door. Her soft soul music fill the area and the tension finally drain out of him.

He wants to go to sleep and never wake up.

Toriel breaks into his thoughts. “*If you truly wish to leave the RUINS…” The fact that she was using asterisks again set him a little more at ease, even if it was normal to forgo them in battle. “*I will not stop you. *However, when you leave…” She glances away. “Please do not come back.” Something catches in his throat. She didn’t want him to come back? “*I hope you understand.” He didn’t, but he was too worn out to say anything. She turns around and suddenly wraps him into a hug. She is even warmer than the soul in his ribs, and softer that anything he can think of.

“*Goodbye, my child.” She walks around him, and he can feel her eyes on him for a moment before he hears her leave. He steps toward the door and stops.

_*(What is it?)_

“*i didn’t say goodbye.”

_*(…) *(You’ll find her in the golden flowers.)_

His feet drag on the ground as he slowly trudges his way back through the ruins. He is stopped three times, but only by meek monsters that allow him to spare them first turn. His surroundings are a blur, and if Chara says anything, he doesn’t hear. Why does he feel so bad right now?

Finally he reaches the room he woke up in, and there is Toriel, right where Chara said. He wonders if they, or their partner, had forgotten to say goodbye too.

“*mom.” She turns to him and smiles. Is it wrong that it’s so easy to call her that? He isn’t a child like Chara or their partner. He’s a grown man. But it slips out easy, and he can barely imagine that he used to call her anything else.

“*Do not worry about me. *Someone has to take care of these flowers.” She turns away.

“*i wanted to say bye.” She glances at him from the corner of her eye, and he can see tears gathering. He never meant to hurt her. “*i- i’ll be safe. *i promise.”

_*Can I?_

He nods and they speak.

“*I need to free everyone mom.” She tenses. “*I promise I’ll come back. *I love you.” They walk his body back to the entrance of the ruins, stopping in front of the Save point there. He feels them let go.

_*I cannot believe I let you go all this way at two health! Use the Save point._

He obliges, but doesn’t save. He pauses, rolling his question around in his head.

“*why’d you say you needed to free everyone.”

_*…_

_*Because I do. *It is all I wanted for the longest time._

_*My partner and I managed to do it. *Once we get things back to normal we can do it again._

Shock finally wipes away the last of the weariness clinging to his skull.

“you got us out?”

_*We were instrumental in the breaking of the barrier. *And we didn’t die to do it._

“*angel above. *angel above!” His eyesockets crinkle with a smile. “*that’s amazing,” he breaths.

_Embarrassment_

_*Well it was mostly my sibling._

_*Partner. *Both._

_Joy_

_*Isn’t it great?_

“*yeah.”

The two of them float in shared delight back to Toriel’s house. A few monsters pulled them into spars, but his happiness was infectious enough to end them with everyone walking away happier than they had approached. He also picked up some spider cider on the way. When he reaches Home, he saves before going inside and back down the stairs.

The familiar tones finally bring him down from his high, but a new sense of hope fills him.

He finally pushes past the door out of the ruins. The tones finally stop as he enters a new hall. As he walks, the light gets progressively brighter until he reaches a doorway. Walking through he is greeted with an unpleasantly familiar sight.

“*oh no.”

_*Oh yes._

_*Wait._

_Amusement_

_*Pfft I sound like Mettaton._

Ignoring them, he tries walking around the single golden flower in front of him. They start talking anyway and-

His body stops moving. Oh come on. He resigned himself to listening to the flower.

“*Clever. *Verrrryyy clever. *You think you’re really smart, don’t you?” They smile suddenly. “*In this world, it’s kill or be killed.” Where the fuck has this guy been living? “*So you were able to play by your own rules.” The demon face made a return. “*You spared the life of a single person.” …What was that supposed to mean? Had the little psychopath expected him to kill somebody?! What the fuck. “Hee hee hee… *I bet you feel really great. *You didn’t kill anybody this time. *But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer?” What kind of question was that? And what did they mean ‘this time’? He really didn’t like this guy and their violent mindset. “You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die. Until you tire of trying.” Shit. Sounded like this guy knew about the anomaly. Chara was getting grilled over this. Eh. Probably. “What will you do then?” Suddenly the flower’s face grew out of it’s confines again with a wild grin. “*Will you kill out of frustration? *Or will you give up entirely on this world…” Demon face “*… and let ME inherit the power to control it.” Oh. OH. ‘Not the first, but the last.’ This guy had been the anomaly. Geez, he really didn’t want to know what such a violent person had been using the power to control time to do. “*I am the prince of this world’s future.”

_*Oh my god did he really just say that._

_Amusement_

_Fond exasperation_

_*Flowey NO._

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

“*Don’t worry, my little monarch, my plan isn’t regicide. This is SO much more interesting.” After giving a bone-chilling cackle, the flower was gone. He tried to step forward and found his body back under control. Thank the angel.

“*we are so talking about that.”

_*Ugh. Do we really have to?_

“*’fraid so.” Amusement colored his reply as he walked through an archway at the other end of the room. Pushing open the door behind it, he was blinded by a sudden influx of light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious, Sans is albino, not Caucasian. I don’t really have a race in mind for him, just know the white skin is albino white, not like apricot or something. And the red eyes and white hair are all natural, not dye or an affect from Chara.
> 
> Side note, I think I figured out how to do fonts on AO3, but it would require more access than I curretly have. Expect that much later!


	5. Act 1; sans: Ice Towns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologize for the long wait on this chapter! Hopefully the length will make up for it!
> 
> Some notes about soul music! Whenever Sans is in battle, his unused neutral theme The Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans, replaces Enemy Approaching! This is because I headcanon Enemy Approaching as Frisk's battle music, and Anticipation (the song that plays when you fight the Ruins Dummy) as their area music. This the song that Sans described as 'tense'.
> 
> And finally I'd like to thank AnonJ! Their comment, as well as the fact that they bookmarked and recommended this fic on one of their blogs, inspired me at a point when I had abandoned this, mostly due to my dad not liking me fixating on Undertale. I find myself looking up to them a little, which is a kind of weird thing to say about someone I've never met! This chapter was completed and posted because of them! Thank you so much.

The door boomed as it shut behind him, and he covered his one good eye against the sudden brightness of light against snow. His sockets crinkled. He was home. Though there was a weird sound ringing in the woods, he shrugged it off.

He gave a wave to Alphys’ bush camera before remembering she wouldn’t recognize him. Oh well, give her something to chew on. He walked the familiar path that led to and from his and Toriel’s joke hangout. He hoped she’d at least keep talking to him through the door. He paused at the branch that had been there since he first started working here.

*(It’s a tough-looking branch.)  
*(It’s too heavy to pick up)

He nodded and kept walking. He’d always wanted to use the thing to freak out a human on the slim chance one came through, before pulling a whoopi cushion gag on them. He wondered if he had done that the Chara’s partner when he heard a snap echo through the forest.

He turned around. The branch was shattered. He approached slowly.

*(It’s been smashed like it was nothing…)  
*(But you’re right here…)

Guess that answered that question. But who had done it this time? He turned again and continued down the path, refusing to turn again even when he heard foot steps behind him. The ringing grew louder and he realized it was a conscience soul sound. He reached the bridge with Papyrus’ bars across it. He paused as he felt a weak tug of magic on the soul.

A hum came from behind him. A single finger tapped the back of his skull three times. Another noise came from behind.

“Fuh fuh fuh.” He turned around slowly. A figure entirely drenched in shadows greeted him. They stuck out a hand. He reached out to take it. A familiar fart noise rang through the air and the shadows fled. Tense soul music started playing.

A human stood in front of him. At least, based on the shows he and Al would watch, this looked like a human. Their eyes were squinted shut, set into brown skin that had a sallow look to it. Choppy brown hair that reminded him of the bowl cut he had seen in the mirror framed their face. They wore a blue onesie with two purple stripes, and brown boots.

Joy  
*Partner!

Definitely a human then, the human who owned the soul in his ribcage. They held up their hand and showed off his whoopie cushion with a grin. They pulled it off their hand and reached over to tuck it into his pocket. They waved, and the smile faded into a neutral look. They began signing to him.

‘My name is F-R-I-S-K’ Then they repeated the F sign and tapped it over their heart. They glanced over his shoulder and raised their eyebrows at him.

‘Humans not safe here go this way’

They pushed him towards his sentry area, so he turned around and started walking into the clearing and the kid followed behind. They both stopped, and they tapped his shoulder before pointing to the conveniently-shapeshifting lamp. Right now it was a perfect copy of his silhouette, and he obeyed the humans direction, hiding behind it. Papyrus entered, and his soul leapt with joy. His brother’s familiar bouncy soul music replaced what must have been the human’s.

He couldn’t see what the human signed, but he was pretty sure most of the dog squad could hear Pap’s reply, and not just because of their great hearing.

“YES, HELLO TO YOU TOO MY DEAR FRIEND BUT! I CANNOT HELP BUT NOTICE THAT IT HAS BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST…” Pap seemed to get stumped at this part. “ACTUALLY I’,M NOT SURE WHAT EXACTLY YOU DO. WHICH IS A GOOD LINE OF INQUIRY! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?”  
Whatever the kid says causes Pap to relax a little and smile at them.  
“WELL! I SUPPOSE IF YOU ARE SORRY THAT IS QUITE ALL RIGHT! BUT THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS AS TO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY DOING?! AFTER ALL…” Here Pap pauses dramatically. “WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!” Papyrus draws himself up, placing a gloved hand to his chest and another on his hip. His cape waves majestically. “THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, ‘FRIEND?’ I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.” Maybe this lamp here could help Pap… light up his life. Heh. Papyrus grinned at whatever the human had to say.

“AH! YES, YOUR UNENDING ENTHUSIASM IS GREATLY APPRECIATED AS ALWAYS!” Suddenly a rimshot plays. Papyrus stills and looks around. “THAT WAS WEIRD? WHERE DID THAT RIMSHOT COME FROM?”

That was a little weird. He liked to use his magic to make a rimshot noise after a pun, but that hadn’t been him. He didn’t even think he could use his magic right now. May be the kid had done it by accident. As he stood behind the lamp, he couldn’t help but wonder how Papyrus had come to know the kid so fast. And why Pap didn’t seem worried about him being missing.

“I DON’T KNOW EITHER. HMMM… WHAT A CONUNDRUM.” After a second, another rimshot plays.

“ANOTHER ONE! HOW STRANGE…” Pap crossed his arms across his chest. “NOW THAT I THINK OF IT, THAT SOUND REMINDS ME OF TERRIBLE PUNS! I WONDER WHY…”

There was another pause and Papyrus squinted at the kid.

“WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO HEAR A TERRIBLE PUN?!? WELL, IF YOU ENJOY SUBJECTING YOURSELF TO NEEDLESS SUFFERING…” He paused. “TRY A LITTLE MORE ‘BACKBONE’ FOR YOUR WORK!!!!”

Pap laughed and the kid made a sound like before again.

“NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!”  
“Fff-fff-fff-fff-fff-fff-fff-fff-fff.”

Papyrus walked away before leaning back in.

“HEH!”

Pap left for good and the clearing went quiet. He heard footsteps and then Frisk came out in front of him. They grabbed his hand and pulled him into the clearing.

“*hey there.”

The kid waved, then thumbed towards the next room. Then they signed out the letters S-A-V-E. Oh. Good idea actually.

“*alright, sounds like a good idea. *but i think we need to talk.”

Their neutral expression made room for a smile, and they tilted their head in a way that felt like a wink. He nodded back to them and started away. When he reached the treeline, Snowdin’s area music startedHe glanced over his shoulder but Frisk was… gone? That was kinda rude. Whatever. He walked onto Box Road, and sure enough there was a Save point right there. He grabbed it.

*(The convenience of that lamp still fills you with determination?)  
File saved

They seemed a bit unsure of that. “*was that a question?”

*(…)  
*(When we went through before, the lamp looked like Frisk. Now it looks like you.)  
*(It is a little confusing.)

“*well if it makes you feel better, that convenient lamp actually shapeshifts to make itself more convenient. *it’s always done that.”

*… *The conveniently-shaped lamp…  
*Shapeshifts?!

He pressed a hand to his teeth to suppress his chuckles. “*yeah, it does.”

  
He stretched his arms above his head before walking over to the box on the other side of the intersection. Wonder if he could still access his stuff, or if the box system would make the humans soul a new storage section. Passing the box-lover sign, he reached out to open it.

*Use the box?

He blinked as he pushed the lid up. “*was that necessary?”

*Force of habit. *Sorry.

He shrugged as the box inventory opened. Woah. Well, that wasn’t his stuff, but it wasn’t an empty storage either. It had something called a ‘Tough Glove’ in it. Weird. Maybe the thing could tell Chara was here? Was this theirs?

“*you know what the glove’s about?” Now that he thought about it, didn’t the bunny shop in Snowdin have a glove like this?

*… *I thought that was weird at first too.  
*Frisk didn’t know how the box system worked, so they just accepted it, but we found out later it belonged to one of the other humans.  
*Almost certainly the orange one. *Maybe the box only bothered to make one ‘human’ account.

Well that was certainly… something. Uncomfortable.

*Listen, you should put in the pie, and one of the spider items.

“*…why?”

*They will be of more use later.

Alright, guess he’d trust them. They hadn’t steered him wrong yet. He stored the butterscotch pie and chose to store the spider cider. He left the glove.

He continued toward Snowdin. Just down the path, he saw Papyrus and Frisk. Coming closer, he overheard them, or rather Pap, talking.

“*SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” Suddenly Pap cut himself off as he saw him. Papyrus turned to him, then back to Frisk. Frisk did the same. The two of them repeated this a few times before starting to spin in all directions. Papyrus stopped with his back to him, but Frisk lost their balance and fell over.

Amusement  
*Partner no! *You are not-  
*You are not the comedian you can’t pull that off!

As Chara lost their mind, Frisk pulled themselves back up and stood next to Pap. Pap took this as his cue to start talking.

“FRISK!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT…” He paused for dramatic effect. “A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!” They both turned back to him, and the kid tilted their head at him. They turned back to Pap and shook their head.

“OH.” Ah geez, he was so disappointed. Fuck it, he could fix this.

“*actually, i totally am a human.” Whatever, technically he had a human soul, right? He wasn’t really lying. Hope Papyrus didn’t recognize his voice. Maybe he should have spoken out of font. Too late now.

Papyrus lit up. “OH MY GOD!” Yep, this was totally the right course of action. “FRISK! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL…” Oh shit. Undyne. “I’M GONNA…” She’d probably try to kill him if Pap told her he was a human. “I’LL BE SO…” Shit. He hadn’t thought this through. “POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!” …Fuck it. He’d deal with the consequences.

*Oh my god I forgot how adorable Papyrus acted when we first met him.  
*F-ing superb you funky little skeleton.

…What.

“…’AHEM’” Papyrus interrupted whatever the hell that had been. “HUMAN! YOU SHALLNOT PASS THIS AREA!” He set his face into an expression of firm willpower. His brother was so cool. “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN!!!” Papyrus paused. “I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S NEXT.” That… wasn’t right? Pap had never liked the idea of anybody being killed, but he knew as well as any other monster what happened when a human went to New Home. Suddenly he realized that he looked like a kid. Pap was probably trying to spare him. “IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE!!!” Papyrus ran away laughing triumphantly. “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!”

Left alone with him, Frisk waved. He waved back. They flashed him a grin and signed.

‘I will watch you see you later’ They started walking away, startling him.

“*hey kid, wait.” They looked over their shoulder and smiled again before disappearing.

Had they just taken one of his shortcuts??? He hurried after them to be sure, but was cut off by a Snowdrake right in front of Papyrus’ sentry station. Looked like it was Snowy, actually.

*Snowdrake flutters forth!

Whatever. Let them go. He’d talk to them later. For now, he *Checked Snowy.

SNOWDRAKE - ATK 12 DEF 7  
*This teen comedian fights to keep a captive audience.

Huh. Kid sounded like they knew him. And he was pretty sure that Snowdrakes aged slowly, way slower than him and Pap anyway. Could Snowy have been around when Chara was alive? Geez, he needed to get to know his neighbors better.

“Better not snow ‘flake’ out!” Snowy announced, before throwing ice crescents at him. He took a hit.

*Snowdrake is smiling at its own bad joke.

He found himself laughing at the truly terrible pun. Snowy had always been a kid after his own heart, since he and Pap had moved to Snowdin.

*You laugh at Snowdrake’s pun.

“See?! Laughs! Dad was wrong!” That’s right, the kid hadn’t gotten on with his dad since his mom, Crystal went to Al’s lab. Hadn’t he run away actually? Wow he REALLY needed to pay more attention to his neighbors.

*Snowdrake is pleased with its “cool” joke.

After that, Snowy let himself be spared.

*YOU WON!  
*You earned 0 XP and 12 gold.

Seeing Frisk use one of his shortcuts reminded him that he hadn’t actually tried to use one yet. And now he was a little worried that the ability might be attached to his own soul, that he wouldn’t be able to do it like this. Only one way to find out. He continued a little ways down the path to a shortcut just before Doggo’s sentry station. A good place to skip anyway, since Doggo had a tendency to attack anything that moved. Well, it was kinda his fault, his shortcuts had riled up Doggo with his tendency to get places without moving. Made him more anxious than he had been before. Ah well, maybe he’d send Doggo an apology basket. Alphys could rig it to vibrate.

Back to the task at hand, he tried to reach out into the Other Place, tried to reach through it to his own room, the first place he thought of. Nothing.

He deflated as he was forced to accept that he could no longer use his preferred method of transportation. Suddenly Chara piped up.

*Are you okay?  
*You’re disappointed about something, but I cannot tell what.  
*Want to… talk about it?

“*nah kiddo.” He shook his skull. “*t’s nothing important, just a little inconvenience.”

*Okay.

He almost wanted to be weirded out by the fact that the kid could tell he was disappointed, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been getting emotions off of them. Might be a good time to ask about that. Hope nobody was watching him talk to himself.

“*while we’re on the subject, how come we can tell what we’re feeling. *i mean, that each other is feeling.”

*Shared soul.  
*This is what it is like whenever two people inhabit a single soul.  
*Believe me. *I have plenty of experience.

“*alright, i believe you.” Might as well move on before someone did see him and spread rumors that the ‘human’ was crazy. Alphys probably already thought he had lost his mind.

Coming up on Doggo’s station, he bypassed the no moving sign and tried to throw himself to the other side of the station before Doggo could react. But Doggo rose above the counter before he could make it and he froze. Doggo’s his eyes started scanning the forest. Obviously Doggo couldn’t see him anymore.

“*Did something move? *Was it my imagination? *I can only see moving things.” He had kinda forgotten that Doggo would talk to himself when he wasn’t sure other people were around, to get them to speak up. “*If something WAS moving… *For example, a human…” Really Doggo? “*I’ll make sure it NEVER moves again!” With that, Doggo started a battle.

*Doggo blocks the way!

He went ahead and *Checked Doggo.

DOGGO – ATK 13 DEF 7  
*Easily excited by movement.  
*Hobbies include: squirrels.

“Don’t move an inch!” Doggo barked, then sent a blue sword across the battle box. He just let it wash over him harmlessly.

*Doggo can’t seem to find anything.

You know what? This seemed like a great time to pull out that weird bone toy he had woken up with. Pulling it out of his inventory, he waved it around.

“HUH!!!” Doggo shouted. “A FUN BONE APPEARS!”

“*yep. *you wanna play?”

“YEAH, YEAH!” Seemed Doggo was a lot more interested in this bone than his job, not that he was complaining. He threw it towards the woods and Doggo bounded after it, managing to catch it before it landed and became invisible to him.

*You threw the bone and the dog ran to get it.  
*You played fetch for a while

They did spend a few minutes playing fetch before he finally tucked the bone back into his inventory. Doggo was still all worked up, barking wildly. He sent another blue sword across the battle box.

*Doggo loves fetch!!!

Reaching out, he pet him in hopes of calming him down.

*You pet Doggo.

“WHAT!!! I’VE BEEN PET!” Despite the continued yelling, Doggo did seem a little more relaxed, no longer barking like a mad dog.

*Doggo has been pet.

Satisfied, he spared Doggo.

*YOU WON!  
*You earned 0 XP and 30 gold.

“*S-S-S-Something pet me… *Something that isn’t m-m-moving…” Uh-oh, looks like his petting had just freaked Doggo out. “*I’m gonna need some dog treats for this!!!” Doggo sunk beneath the counter again. He shrugged and moved on.

In the ice cavern he found Frisk again.

*How are they remembering all the places you turned up?  
*It was a year ago!

Well that was interesting to know. Frisk was mimicking him. Alright. He walked up.

“*hey kiddo.”

They waved, face neutral. Then they signed to him.

‘Blue stop sign.’ He blinked at them.

“*… *yeah, i know.” They smiled a little before going back to a blank stare.

*They’re still mimicking you.  
*Though I thought the ‘Special Attack’ ‘Blue stop sign’ speech was given closer to town.

Special attack…? Oh, Papyrus’ gravity attack. Pap used blue magic to initialize the magic, so a warning about blue magic would have helped the kid without giving away Pap’s surprise. At least, it would have helped if it hadn’t been right after Doggo’s station. Oops. Whatever.

“*so, i wanted to ask you about somethings.”

They smiled again, before signing ‘blue stop signs’ again.

“*??? *no, like anomaly things. *soul things *human things? *maybe partner things if that’s not too personal.”

They repeated themself.

“*?!? *c’mon kid, what is that even supposed to mean?”

*Oh dear.  
*Um, let me talk to them?

“*alright, whatever.” This time, he swore he could feel a shift. His shoulders pushed back, and his posture straightened. His eyesockets opened wider.

“*Greetings, partner.” At this, Frisk’s face seemed to light up, a smile overtaking their face and their eyebrows raising without opening their eyes. They flung themselves forward and threw their arms around his neck. Chara laughed.

“*I have missed you too! *I was worried until… until the comedian and I left the Ruins. *Are you okay?” The two drew back from each other, and Frisk nodded. He felt his eye-sockets crinkle and relief poured out of Chara. “*I am so glad partner. *But!” Now they pulled away from Frisk, stepping back. His eyes narrowed. “*Are you purposely giving the comedian a hard time?” Chara pointed one of his phalanges at Frisk, and the kid looked sheepish. They nodded. What? Why the hell were they doing that? “*I know he was cagey during our own adventure, but just because he was unhelpful doesn’t mean we need to be!” Oh. That’s why. He fucked up. “*I am not saying you have to help him, but at least don’t be purposely difficult. *Now I am going to back off, so just know that I love you, okay partner?”

Frisk’s smile returned. ‘Love you too’ they signed, followed by the sign for knife inverted towards their own self instead of outward. He felt Chara release his body. He took a second to wonder if they actually needed his permission or if they could do whatever they wanted and were just polite about it. He discarded the thought.

“*hey, it’s me again.”

Frisk tilted their head in consideration before signing ‘Later’. They expanded this to ‘Talk later’ after a moment.

He sighed “*alright. *later. *just one thing.” He paused. “*comedian?”

*It is a nickname I gave Snowdrake, that is Snowy, a long time ago before it-he!  
*Before he picked out his name, or gender. *Since neither of us remember your name I figured it be a good fit.  
*Though now that we’re here… *Partner can you hear me?

Frisk nodded and he jumped.

“*you could hear them this whole time?”

They nodded again and Chara butted in.

*Napstablook and Papyrus can also hear me, while Mettaton will respond to thing I say occasionally.  
*Even after a year on the surface, he wouldn’t confirm he could hear me, but if Frisk directly confronted him…  
*He never denied hearing me either.  
*But back to the subject at hand! *Frisk do you remember the comedian’s name?

Frisk shook their head and he huffed.

*Too bad.  
*You know, we really should keep going.

“*alright, if you say so. *see ya frisk”

They waved as he walked away. He skidded across the ice, then on the other side he was unexpectedly pulled into battle by Lesser Dog.

*Lesser Dog appears.

Aw, he loved Lesser Dog. Lesser Dog got real excited easily, and Lesser Dog’s neck trick was pretty adorable. He skipped *Checking Lesser Dog and went straight for the fur.

*You barely lifted your hand and Lesser Dog got excited.

Lesser Dog panted at him, then sent out a smaller dog bullet that barked and jumped from the barrier behind him. He easily dodged to the right of it.

*Lesser Dog is barking excitedly.

He continued petting the worked up pup, mostly dodging further attacks until finally Lesser Dog stopped attacking.

*Critical pet!  
*Dog excitement increased.

Lesser Dog panted, and didn’t take a turn.

*Lesser Dog is overstimulated.

This seemed like a good place to end things, so he went ahead and spared Lesser Dog.

*YOU WON!  
*You earned 0 XP and 7 gold.

Nice. He walked into the clearing with Papyrus’ electric maze and found his brother and Frisk waiting for him. The kid sure had figured out his shortcuts quick. Good for them. As he approached, Papyrus started talking to Frisk

“YOU’RE SO LAZY! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!” He glared at the tiny human.  
They pouted back. ‘Need sleep’

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!” Suddenly the two noticed him and both faces lit up.

“OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY FRIEND AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!” …That didn’t sound right. He and Pap had been the ones to make the puzzles, even if his own contributions were… limited. Discomfort settled like a weight inside of him. “I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…” Pap grinned devilishly “QUITE SHOCKING!!!” Frisk gave their little ‘fff-ff-ff’ laugh beside him. And his smile returned to normal. His brother was so cool. “FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!!!” Frisk applauded and he joined in.

“*real cool, bro.” Oops. Hadn’t meant to call him that, though thankfully Papyrus was too immersed in his puzzle presentation to really notice.

“WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THE MAZE,” he pulled out the electric orb. “THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEALTHY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN???” His smile was full of mischief again. “BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE,” Pap glanced to the side. “IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK. OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW.”

…Wasn’t he supposed to get the orb? He stepped closer and-

ZZTTZTTZT!!!

Papyrus was shocked. Oops. After recovering, he started stomping his foot.

“HUMAN!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?! SURELY HUMAN TRICKERY IS THE ONLY WAY MY AMAZING PUZZLE COULD HAVE FAILED!!”

*Wow, he still managed to blame you for that!

He chuckled under his breath. “*uh, i think i’m supposed to hold the orb.”

Papyrus brightened. “OH, OKAY.” Papyrus walked through the maze. Just before entering, he begins stomping hard enough to leave prints. “HOLD THIS PLEASE!” He threw the orb up high and returned, light-footed, to his starting point as the orb landed on his head. “OKAY, TRY NOW!”

He tilts his head to the side, before shrugging and following Papyrus’ footprints. He stopped at the exit and looked to the pair for their response.

“INCREDIBLE!!” Papyrus cried out, giving an impassioned glare. “YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!!” He side-glanced. “YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY… TOO EASILY!” He brightened up again. “HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY-” He cut himself off, visibly confused. “B-BY…”

??? Why was Pap so confused by this? Next room was his, um ‘puzzle’. Maybe he’d help him out.

“*your brother?”

If anything, Papyrus looked MORE confused by that. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUMAN??? I DON’T HAVE A BROTHER.”

He spasmed, gaze fuzzing out. Shock tore through him and he rattled.

Suddenly Frisk jumped in front of Papyrus, signing.

‘My puzzle. Confusing.’

Despite being behind them, Papyrus nodded excitedly.

“THAT’S RIGHT! FRISK HAS A VERY CONFOUNDING PUZZLE UP NEXT! I KNOW I AM! SURELY CONFOUNDED, THAT IS. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!” He turned towards the maze and pulled himself out of the room. He was distantly aware of the fact that the orb disappeared. His legs gave under him, and he collapsed into the snow. Frisk launched themselves forward, wrapping their arms around him and rocking him back and forth. They made shushing noises.

For a little while he just let himself be held. Finally he brought himself to speak.

“*… he didn’t remember me. *i mean, i saw what i look like in the mirror, so i get not recognizing me, but-” he swallowed around a lump in his throat. “*he said he didn’t have a brother.” Frisk squeezed him, before pulling away.

‘People know me. Shouldn’t. Not only souls switched.’

“*oh.” He rolled that thought around his skull. “*how are we supposed to fix this?”

They bit their lip. ‘Don’t know.’ They made the sign for A crossed with the one for science. Alphys’ namesign.

“*… *probably, yeah. *can you shortcut to hotland?”

They pursed their lips. ‘Could try. No.’

“*???”

‘No. No help. Figure it out. Good luck.’ They patted his skull and stepped out of the room before he could protest.

*(…) *(Hey there.)

“*what the fuck was that about!” He burst out.

Surprise

He was pissed. “*‘geez i could help you but nah, you’re on your own’?!? *what the fuck! *what the fuck!” He picked up a fistful of snow and threw it where the kid had been standing.

*(Frisk why did you abandon me to explain this I take back every nice thing I have ever said about you.)  
*(You see..) *(That was kind of your own attitude towards my partner.)

He stood back up just to kick some more snow. Great, was this about him being unhelpful? Because it wasn’t like he had known the kid, or if they could be trusted.

“*what’s that supposed to mean?”

*Well, you weren’t really helpful.  
*You were funny, and Frisk and I both enjoy your company!  
*But you left us to our own devices.  
*Neither of us minded until…

Feeling a bit better, he scrubbed at his face. “*until what?”

*… *You said you had promised mom to protect us.  
*And… said some other things.  
*I didn’t take it well, you taking that promise so lightly.  
*I was angry, but eventually found it in myself to forgive you.  
*Frisk didn’t like… how you… threatened us?  
*I guess it is payback time.

He stilled. That… almost sounded like him. Fuck. Fuck he’d messed up bad with this kid hadn’t he?

“*…threatened how?”

*You didn’t say that you would hurt us in the future or anything!  
*But you said that if Toriel hadn’t said anything…  
*We’d be dead where we stand. *Stood? *Whatever.

Fuck that’s basically exactly how he would have reacted to some unknown human who may or may not control the timeline. Fuck. Fuck! What the hell was wrong with him?!

“*so i ruined shit and now i’ve got a bitter little kid who won’t be any help at all?”

*I feel like salty is a better word, bitter seems to imply a level of cynicism, at least to me.  
*And Frisk forgave you mostly! We usually get along swimmingly with you.  
*But otherwise that is a good summation.

“*and they’re the only one with any idea that the two of us aren’t supposed to be like this.”

*Well I’m sure Alphys has heard most of these conversations! *She’ll at least have an idea of something being off. *And Papyrus seemed like he was trying to remember you, what with his confusion over the word-search.

For a second he was surprised, before remembering that they had been through this. They already knew all the puzzles. Then his eye-sockets crinkled. “*yeah, there’s papyrus for you.”

Affection  
*Come on, it is time we moved on.  
*The faster we get to Hotland, the faster we can all get back to normal!

“*… *alright.” He trudged into the next room, and saw the Nice Cream guy. He could use a ‘cool’ pick me up. He walked over, and the bunny monster complained about the fact that no one would buy ice cream in the cold weather. Then the bunny noticed him, and perked up before throwing out a sales pitch. He bought one.

Deciding to eat it right there, he pulled off the wrapper. Chara chimed in.

*(An illustration of a hug.)  
*Your HP was maxed out.

He went ahead and bought another for later. He bypassed the Ball game, noticing Frisk in the corner. Whatever. He wouldn’t even talk to them. He continued into the room with his crossword. Papyrus and Frisk waited once more.

“HUMAN!!!” Papyrus exclaimed. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR…” He paused, before glaring. “FRISK!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!”

Frisk pointed to the piece of paper on the ground. The three of them all took a moment to take in the puzzle. He walked over to it. He picked it up. Yup, the same one he set up. Cool. He put it back down and walked over to his brother and Frisk. Papyrus continued glaring.

“FRISK!!! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”

Frisk shrugged. They paused before signing.

‘C-R-O-S-S-W-O-R-D would work better.’ Guess they had learned some of Pap’s buttons, or maybe were going off what he had said the first time around, because Papyrus got even more indignant.

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION…” He glanced to the side again. “JUINOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”

He snorted. “*what? really dude? *that easy-peasy word scramble? *that’s for baby bo-” He cut himself off. Saying ‘baby bones’ would probably just confuse Papyrus at this point. Whatever. Anyway, Pap was definitely riled up.

“UN. BELIEVABLE.” He bit out. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT STRANGE JUMBLE GAMES YOU HAVE ON THE SURFACE HUMAN, BUT REST ASSURED, IN THE UNDERGROUND IT IS EASILY THE HARDEST NEWSPAPER GAME INVENTED!!!” Suddenly he turned to Frisk. “FRIEND!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

*(Which is harder?) Chara whispered. Frisk put a fist against their mouth, eyeing Pap, then him. Finally they pointed at Papyrus. He lit up like the Gyftmas tree.

“HA! HA! YES! THANK YOU MY INTELLIGENT FRIEND, FOR MAKING THE OBVIOUSLY CORRECT DECISION! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!” Papyrus walked away. He walked up to Frisk.

“*thanks for saying “junior jumble” just to appease my brother.” His eye-socket crinkled. “*don’t know if i’ve told you this, but yesterday he got stumped trying to “solve” the horoscope.” Frisk grinned.

Satisfied that they had come to a truce without having to say anything, he continued on. In the next room was a table with some of Papyrus’ spaghetti, a note, and a microwave. Across from these things was a Save point. He picked up the note, but before he could read it, Chara read it to him in Papyrus’ voice.

*It’s a note from Papyrus…  
HUMAN!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGETTI.  
(LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGTTI IS A TRAP…)  
(DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!!)  
(YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT…)  
(THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING!!)  
(THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!)  
NYEH- HEH- HEH, PAPYRUS

By the time they were done reciting the letter, he was shaking with laughter. After calming down, he turned to the probably-almost-edible spaghetti.

*(It’s a plate of frozen spaghetti.)  
*(It’s so cold, it’s stuck to the table…)

And the microwave, which was unplugged. He walked over and used the Save point.

*(Knowing the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the spaghetti…)  
*(It fills you with determination.)  
File saved

…Mouse? Turning away, he walked around the table and saw a hole in the wall. He came a little closer and peaked in. He couldn’t see anything, but there was a soft squeak. Huh.

After that, he headed into the next room, where Papyrus had hidden a button to deactivate some spikes. He didn’t need the map, but before he could leave he was pulled into battle with Icecap and Snowy. Geez why did the kid keep coming back? Unfortunately, Jerry tagged along with them.

*Icecap and Snowdrake confront you, sighing.  
*Jerry. Chara bit out.

Forget this. He didn’t even *Check Jerry. He made eye contact with Snowy, then Icecap.

“*let’s get outta here.” They looked at each other, then nodded to him. The three of them ran off.

*You and the other monsters ditch Jerry when it looks away!

He evaded the teenagers next attack, and Snowy started wigging for some reason.

*Snowdrake realized its own name is a pun and is freaking out.

He chuckled and Snowy lit up, thinking he’d laughed at his ‘Macaroni and ‘Freeze’’ joke. During the next turn, he got smacked by a snow crescent.

He went ahead and *Checked Ice Cap

Ice Cap – ATK 11 DEF 4  
*This teen wonders why it wasn’t named ‘Ice Hat’

Suddenly Jerry caught up with them. Ugh. He got through the next turn, then he and the other two ditched Jerry again. After that, he tried to remember what Ice Cap usually responded to. Right. He made a big deal out of looking away from Ice Cap.

*You manage to tear your eyes away from Ice Cap’s hat.  
*It looks annoyed…

He rolled his eye lights even as Ice Cap started freaking out.

“HELLO??? My hat’s up here!” He turned away from Ice Cap after taking a hit.

*You continue not looking at Ice Cap’s hat.  
*It seems defeated…

“Better a hatter than a hater!” Ice Cap shouted, as Jerry caught back up. They ditched Jerry one last time, then he spared the other two.

*YOU WON!  
*You earned 0 XP and 25 gold.

Going through the deactivated spikes, he got jumped by Dogamy and Dogaressa. The cutesy couple that never seemed to leave the honeymoon phase.

…Great now he was narrating.

“*What’s that smell?” Dogamy barked.  
“*(Where’s that smell?)” Dogaressa barked.  
“*If you’re a smell…” Dogamy started.  
“*(… identify yoursmellf!)” Dogaressa finished.  
They danced around him before coming back to his sides.

“*Hmmm… *Here’s that weird smell…” Dogamy paused. “*It makes me want to eliminate.”  
Dogaressa jumped in. “*(Eliminate YOU!)”

*Dogi assault you!

He went ahead and *Checked them, one at a time.

Dogamy – ATK 14 DEF 5  
*Husband of Dogaressa  
*Knows only what he smells.

Dogaressa – ATK 14 DEF 5  
*This puppy finds her hubby lovely. SMELLS ONLY?

Afterward, he reached out to pet Dogamy, only to be rebuffed.

*The Dogs are too suspicious of your smell.

“Paws off you smelly human!”  
“(That’s not your husband, okay?)”

Geez, that hadn’t gone over well. And then he took a hit from their axes. Maybe they’d like to play? He pulled out the bone toy and tossed it. Fortunately they both went for it, and he played with them for a little while.

*Every dog loves to play fetch!!!  
Excitement

Pleased, he spared them.

*You won!  
*You earned 0 XP and 40 gold

Beneath their hoods, the Dogi were grinning and their tails wagging.

“*Weird smells can bring good things…”  
“*(Friendly fun fetch!)”  
“*Thanks, weird smell!”  
“*(It was great of you to “throw us a bone”!)”

They ran off and he walked after them. In the middle of Papyrus’ X-to-O puzzle, Pap noticed him and fumed over the failure of the spaghetti trap. Then..

“DID YOU LEAVE ANY OF IT FOR ME?”

*(What do you tell Papyrus about his spaghetti?)

“*i couldn’t take that from you! *you worked hard on that.”

“REALLY1? WOWIE… YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA.. JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME???”

“*yep.”

“FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS…” He paused dramatically. “WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYAH!” Pap left and he finished the puzzle.

Papyrus was waiting for him in the next room. He grinned when he walked up.

“SOCKS STARTED COLLECTING IN OUR HOUSE RECENTLY. OUR AS IN MY FRIEND AND I!” Pap gave a side look. “IT’S SADDENING...” Papyrus’ face crumpled into a confused sort of expression before brightening back up. “ON AN UNRELATED NOTE, I WONDER WHAT MY FRIEND WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF THEM??? NYEH HEH HEH!”

*That was kinda forced.

His eye-sockets crinkled. “*they’re real lucky to have a cool friend like you bro.” Papyrus smiled back at him silently, which… was a little confusing? He poked Papyrus’ chest. “*pap?”

“SOCKS STARTED COLLECTING IN OUR HOUSE RECENTLY. OUR AS IN MY FRIEND AND I! IT’S SADDENING… ON AN UNRELATED NOTE, I WONDER WHAT MY FRIEND WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF THEM??? NYEH HEH HEH!”

Oh, that again. Pap started repeating thing over and over again to new people sometimes, hard to get him out of it.

“*ok. bye.”

Pap waved as he walked off, which is more response than he usually gave when he was like that. As he reached Papyrus’ next spike puzzle, Pap suddenly strode over, all business. Guess he was done? That was great.

“HUMAN! HMMM… HOW DO I SAY THIS… YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO…” he paused. “I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE… BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE.” He glanced away. “UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY-” He cut off. “MY, UH, MYSTERIOUS FRIEND IS NOWHERE AROUND. I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS…” Pap posed dramatically. “WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I’LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!!”

He walked closer to the puzzle and scratched his skull. That was… a lot of X’s. Whatever, he’d just walk over them all. Wandering through the little maze, he ended up stepping on one of his O’s and it turned into a triangle. He’d forgotten about that… Whatever, he should check to see if Pap has any cool ideas.

Papyrus lit up once he reached him “SO, YOU WANT A HINT, HUH?”

“*yup.”

“WELL… I’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE… AND I THINK THE SOLUTION… IS TO TURN ALL THE X’S INTO O’S! YOU SHOULD TRY THAT! ASK AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!”

He blinked at Pap and looked at the puzzle. Then back at Pap. “*but how?”

“MAYBE SOLVING THE LAST PUZZLE WILL HELP. ASK AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!”

Guess the last puzzle had been easy enough to solve that a human might not have gotten the basic workings of it. He’d try again.

“*can you think of anything else, bro?”

“EUREKA!!!” Papyrus cried. “I’VE FIGURED OUT THE PUZZLE!!!”

“*that’s so cool of you bro.”

Papyrus grinned, before averting his gaze. “YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE HAVING FUN, THOUGH… DO YOU ABSOLUTELY, DAPSOLUTELY WANT THE SOLUTION?”

*(Do you absolutely, dapsolutely want the answer?)

“*sure.”

“THE! SOLUTION! IS!” Papyrus was practically vibrating at this point. “(PLEASE IMAGINE A DRUMROOL IN YOUR HEAD) … THAT TREE OVER THERE HAS A SWITCH ON IT! CHECK IT OUTIE!!!”

He blinked. Why did a tree have a puzzle-switch on it?

*Wait, there’s a switch? *Oh, that makes sense!

He went to reply, before realizing Pap wouldn’t know who he was talking to. Wait, hadn’t Frisk said Pap could hear Chara? Just in case, he walked over to the tree before saying anything.

“*how does that make sense?” he asked as he felt for the hidden switch.

*For monsters that can’t teleport or walk on air.

They were right, that did make sense. His phalanges found a strange depression.

*(There’s a switch on the trunk of this tree.)  
*(Press it?)

He nodded as he pressed down. Walking back over, he saw the spikes were still up. Huh.

*Maybe try the button?

He tried it, and all the X’s suddenly became O’s.

“WOW!!!” Papyrus burst out. “YOU SOLVED IT!! MY ADVICE HELPED! IT REALLY HELPED YOU!!”

“*i couldn’t have done it without you.”

“INCREDIBLE! I’M IMPRESSED!! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO! WELL, I’M SURE YOU’LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!!”

He grinned. “*can’t wait.”

“NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEH!!!” Papyrus walked away and he followed. Just past the spikes waited Frisk. They flashed his a thumbs up and grinned before he headed into the next room.

Which was completely redone from a mostly empty cavern to be fully covered in tiles. Papyrus and Frisk waited for him, and his brother launched into Speech once he walked in.

“HEY! IT’S THE HUMAN! YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DOCTER ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH… THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!” Oh god. “RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILE ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM… YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT… IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU.” Piranhas? Didn’t they bite normally? “ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER THE SLIPPERY SOAP… SMELLS LIKE LEMONS!! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON’T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE.” That was. That was a lot. “HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND???”

*Tell him you understand.

“*uh, yeah. that makes sense.”

“GREAT!! THERE’S ONE LAST THING… THIS PUZZLE… IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!!!!!! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE… THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY…!” He  pulled the switch and the machine started humming, the tiles flashed different colors, faster and faster, louder and louder, until they set into place.

There was a perfectly straight pink path to the other side, bordered by two red patches. Papyrus’ area music cut off and the three of them stared for a minute. Papyrus spun out of the room without a word. That was really anticlimactic?

He walked over and waved at Frisk as he walked by. They waved back. The next room was Lesser Dog’s sentry area, and the entire area was now filled with… snowdogs? Broken snowdogs, with too long necks. Nearby was a Save point, and he grabbed it.

*(Knowing that dog will never give up trying to make the perfect snowdog…)  
*(It fills you with determination.)  
File saved.

Walking away from the Save point, he saw a monster standing in the corner. He went over to talk to it.

“*A dog just rushed in here, filled with inspiration. *it kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions… *But, as it built, it kept getting more excited about the sculpture… *Its neck got longer and longer, an it added more and more snow, until… *It was rather sad to watch, but I couldn’t turn away.”

… He didn’t really have anything to say to that, though he felt a little bad about Lesser Dog’s inability to sculpt the emotions Lesser Dog was feeling. He continued into the next room, where the ice X-and-O puzzle waited. First, a sense of morbid curiosity pulled him down to the room he and Pap had built snow skeletons in. Papyrus’ was just as he remembered, including the piece of scarf Papyrus had ripped off his own. And right next to it was a familiar shapeless mound. A sense of relief washed over him as he approached it.

*(It’s a lump of snow smeared with red marker.)  
*(Your name cannot be made out.)

“*it wouldn’t be that easy, would it?”

He returned to the puzzle room and completed it from vague muscle memory, only to reach the end and realize he couldn’t reach the button without hitting an O. He had done it backwards. He swore he could hear Chara giggling at him. After fixing his mistake, he slid into the next area and continued towards Snowdin. He took a moment to look at Greater Dog’s house.

*(What a tiny doghouse!)  
*(It must be bigger on the inside.)

He snorted before walking away.

*Wait. *Um.  
*Check some of the snow poffs.  
*Something weird happens.

Shrugging, he went along with it, and they gave him amusing and increasingly dramatic snow poff presentations. He was starting to think that was all it was about, when he reached the last one… and pulled out 30 G.

*No matter the order, the seventh poff bestows its mysterious gift.  
*Now you may proceed.

He blinked down at the Gold, before deciding to just accept whatever this was. He tried to  oe on, but was blocked by a final poff, that slowly revealed itself to be Greater Dog. It pulled him into battle.

*It’s the Greater Dog. Chara announced. He rolled his eyelights and *Checked it. 

Greater Dog – ATK 15 DEF 8  
*It’s so excited that it thinks fighting is just play.

It summoned a small, sleeping dog behind him that did nothing.

*Greater Dog is watching you intently.

He reached out to pet it, but couldn’t reach.

You just pet the air.

Greater Dog sent out a spear that turned blue as it approached him and he stood still. Unfortunately it turned whit again just before hitting him.

*Greater Dog is waiting for your command.

Feeling worn out, he pulled out his bone toy in the hopes that it would calm it down.

*You threw the bone and the dog ran to get it.  
*You played fetch for a while.

After that he got hit with another ill-timed spear, but Greater Dog let itself get spared, so that was cool.

*YOU WON!  
*You earned 0 XP and 40 gold.

Greater Dog hopped out of its armor and licked his face. He giggled under the affectionate onslaught before it left, tail hanging out the neck of its armor. After that he came to the long rock bridge Pap had painted. When he reached the other side, Papyrus and Frisk waited, looking serious.

“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Suddenly, a bunch of weapons descended, plus Least Dog, or Toby. He gulped. What- where- were these things Papyrus’? Was he supposed to get through this? “WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!” He gave a sudden rattle as Papyrus continued. “ARE YOU READY!?”

“*what?!”

“BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!” The three of them stood in silence for a while before he brought himself to reply.

“*well? *what’s the holdup?” For a moment Papyrus gave him a frustrated glare, but didn’t rise to the bait.

“I ASKED IF YOU WERE READY! ARE YOU?”

He glanced back and forth. “*uh, not really?”

“OH!” There was another brief pause as Frisk looked between the two of them. “HOW ABOUT NOW?”

“*nope.”

“I SEE… SO YOU AGREE!”

“*yep.”

*Wait what are you agreeing with? He shrugged. *Oh my god.

“THIS CHALLENGE!!! IS FAR TOO EASY FOR A MASTER PUZZLELER LIKE YOURSELF!!! YEAH! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!!”

“*you’re so right.”

“I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED!”

“*you tell ‘em. *or well, you tell me.”

“THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL!” Papyrus brightened up. “AWAY IT GOES!” The gauntlet retracted. “PHEW!” Pap looked relieved, then turned it back into a glare. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!! NYEH!! HEH!! … HEH???” Pap walked away and he walked to the end of the bridge to Frisk, who glanced where Papyrus had gone then shrugged. Then they smirked.

‘Blue’ Was all they had to say. He rolled his eyes and finally reached Snowdin Town. Passing the welcome banner, he saw a Save point in front of the bunny family’s shop/inn. He reached for it.

*(The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination.)  
File saved.

His eyelights caught on the inn. He was feeling tired… If Frisk had replaced him, then there wouldn’t be anywhere for him to sleep at home. Better to stay a while here. He walked in and approached the pink bunny sister, who welcomed him warmly.

“*Welcome to Snowed Inn! *Snowdin’s premier hotel!” he snorted, sometimes he forgot the name of this place. “*One night is 80G” Geez, how much did he have again?

“*uh, just a sec…”

“*Well, feel free to come back any time.” He blinked. That was a weird response. Whatever, she was probably tired. He checked, and found that he had collected 265G. Alright, that was a little more than he expected, he could spare 80. He returned to the counter.

“*i’ll take a room for the night.”

“*Here’s your room key.” She chirped, handing it over. “*Make sure to bundle up!”

Nodding to her, he went up to the room that matched his key and let himself in. He kicked off his sneakers and climbed into the bed. Vaguely musical snoring from his neighbors lulled him to sleep


End file.
